The author and racism
- Ngozi Onyibor
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Re: The author and racism
- Joy Catap
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Huh, this makes sense. About the colorism, it did mention about his cousin who is a tad lighter than him who received special treatment. But I didn't know that's what surprised him about the racism in the US. Thanks for this Nisha. I am learning a lot!Nisha Ward wrote: ↑06 Aug 2019, 06:30It really is. I keep seeing people wonder how he didn't face racism in Guyana, but the truth is that when your population is majority non-white, the face of racism is quite different. There's also colourism to factor in, which he did mention.OliviaLouise wrote: ↑02 Aug 2019, 07:24 I think the intensity of overt racism varies geographically today. Back then, however, it was everywhere. I imagine it must have been surprising to Frank to have to deal with this issue since it was so different back in Guyana. It’s terrible. I think he handled it l really gracefully.
I believe this is why he was surprised when he encountered it in the US because it's a different kind of racism to what we in the Caribbean deal with.
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How did I react? As if they had said nothing at all. I just said we were there to eat lunch. They did not apologize. But they did serve us lunch.Lunastella wrote: ↑01 Aug 2019, 19:36This is terribly sad and enraging. And this is why books like the one we're discussing are fundamental. I don't mean to pry but may I ask how did you react to the staff's attitude? Did they apologize?DC Brown wrote: ↑11 Jul 2019, 20:47He was brave and stuck to his principles. Unfortunately, racism is still alive and well in the US. Just last year, a friend and I went to a restaurant in a northern state and the staff did not want to serve us because my friend is black. I was shocked. She was not.Nisha Ward wrote: ↑06 Jul 2019, 09:42 So in the book, when Frank gets to the US, he experiences instances of racial discrimination that he hadn't in Guyana, from one of his professors saying that he would never be a scientist to Ciba Geigy's DLs not wanting to give him Max's job in full because of his ethnicity. This is obviously still a problem the world over, but the author makes it a point to confront these because he has a different experience of it. What do you think of Frank's experiences in this area and how he confronts them?
- María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
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It must take a lot of self-control to keep quiet in such a situation. How unfortunate that they didn't even apologize. Thank you for replying, I was genuinely curious and didn't mean to pry.DC Brown wrote: ↑06 Aug 2019, 22:07How did I react? As if they had said nothing at all. I just said we were there to eat lunch. They did not apologize. But they did serve us lunch.Lunastella wrote: ↑01 Aug 2019, 19:36This is terribly sad and enraging. And this is why books like the one we're discussing are fundamental. I don't mean to pry but may I ask how did you react to the staff's attitude? Did they apologize?DC Brown wrote: ↑11 Jul 2019, 20:47
He was brave and stuck to his principles. Unfortunately, racism is still alive and well in the US. Just last year, a friend and I went to a restaurant in a northern state and the staff did not want to serve us because my friend is black. I was shocked. She was not.
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His determination sees him through and I tend to believe he must have had a strong support system.Florence Nalianya wrote: ↑10 Jul 2019, 06:30 The author faces several instances of discrimination in the USA to an extend where a lecturer feels he can't be a scientist and doesn't deserve that kind of education. At some point, the racist think he can't have a job for he is black.
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Yeah, I agree. I think peace is the way to go, especially when there was such a good opportunity for him to not choose peace.briellejee wrote: ↑01 Aug 2019, 10:13By not minding the bullies, he surely did both parties a favor.Nathan Berner wrote: ↑29 Jul 2019, 13:10 I think it was quite inspiring to see how he handled racial discrimination. He handled it in such a peaceful way. They say the best revenge is living your best life, I think he definitely triumphed discrimination in that sense.