Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper

There are innumerable books that talk of the African-American people. The main themes in most of these writings are race and oppression of the minority. It is funny how the majority of the social issues that this particular ethnic group has been experiencing throughout history are yet to be solved in the contemporary world. Today, studies reveal that African-Americans still live in fear of uncertainty as they do not know what may become of them in the neighborhoods (Rusert, 2017). Two notable books that have shared some of the major social issues that African-Americans face are Cool Pose and Between the World and Me. Though there are several differences in these texts, they share a few common similarities as exposed in this paper.

A major similarity in both texts is that the authors rely on the theme of displacement to recognize some of the dilemmas that the black persons faced on a daily. The author attempts to describe the image of a black man in the Cool Pose. I stumbled across a crucial point as I was perusing through this novel. Even though the African man is portrayed as a cool, composed individual, he fails to liberate himself completely from the white folks. Majors, the author, denotes that people from the African American communities feel uncomfortable in their skin but strive to mask their internal rage and have control (Majors & Billson, 1993). Similarly, in Between the World and Me, Coates writes to his son to enlighten him of the struggles the black people face by disclosing his journey in the black neighborhoods (Coates, 2016). His major points revolve around the way African-Americans are displaced in the community. This theme is evident in the beginning chapters of both texts. Thus, I believe that the issue of displacement cannot be assumed in African American literature.

Both texts also touch on the principle of responsibility and how the African-American man is linked to it. Following my knowledge of the black communities, I learned that the black man was willing to endure pain and struggle to provide for his family. Throughout black history, African-Americans have risen to seek financial freedom and improve their living standards regardless of the challenges they encounter in their endeavors.  Majors and Billson (1993) are keen to identify what it meant to be black. They conducted qualitative research to expose various dynamics that have been influential in shaping their fate in a polarized societal setup. It is important to note that many things tainted their progress and development in society but the major one was that they were highly discriminated by their superiors.  

A central argument that most participants in Majors’ research found essential revolved around responsibility. A responsible man is he who can provide for the family regardless of the social status (Majors and Billson, 1993). Also, Coates (2016) explains to his son the importance of being responsible as an African-American. The author emphasizes the need of trying harder to attain one's ultimate objectives (Coates, 2016). This knowledge regarding the African-American literature enhanced my understanding of the topic of identity. Per Rusert (2017), a core characteristic that is constant in African-American literature is the concern of their position in the society dominated by a superior ethnic group. Both books explain how African-Americans struggle to improve their socioeconomic status through hard work and endurance. This further explains why this ethnic group tends to embrace traditional masculine values of self-confidence, caring for once family, aggressiveness, and competitiveness. They were ready to appreciate their situation and this motivated them to work harder in whatever they did irrespective of the attached odds.

It is crucial to pinpoint some of the notable differences that these two books present. The literary concepts utilized to air out key points were in contrast. Whereas Between the World and Me was a letter, Cool Pose was an extensive literature on the topic. Majors conducted qualitative research to gain the crucial points through examples and testimonies while Coates narrates to his son about his personal life experiences and assumptions. Apart from this, both authors used different approaches to convey their ideas. For instance, Coates mainly uses a sad tone to enlighten his son on the pressures of being a black man. He tackles the issues of profiling and discrimination in-depth and readers can connect these problems to contemporary societal issues facing modern societies (Coates, 2016). On the other hand, in Between the World and Me, the authors disclose how black people have managed to survive white supremacy by adopting crucial masculine qualities (Majors & Billson, 1993). Majors and Billson attempt to reveal the masculinity dominance of the African-American man compared to their white counterparts. In as much as the dominance of the latter cannot be questioned, Africans were determined to ensure that they redeemed their position in society.   

Nonetheless, my experience with both these books was eye-opening. They improved my knowledge about the issue of relationships between the whites and the black. For instance, I learned that the concept of culture played a key role when it came to the establishment of personal relationships. The aloof swagger that African-Americans possess puts them in a susceptible position with race profilers even though it was regarded as a way of life. I also learned that the way African-Americans portrayed themselves through clothing and lifestyle was a simple stunt to show ethnic pride.

In conclusion, both of these books were educative as much as they were interesting. Both authors used simple and comprehensive language to shed light on important points. The topic focus was entirely on the African-American ethnic group. Though the authors utilized different concepts, the themes used were connected closely. Some of the major themes found in both writings include but are not limited to discrimination, racism, and displacement.

References

Coates, T. (2016). Between the World and Me. Melbourne; Text Publishing.

Majors, R., & Billson, J. (1993). Cool Pose. The Dilemma of Black Manhood in America. New York; Simon and Schuster.

Rusert, B. (2017). Fugitive Science: Empiricism and Freedom in Early African American Culture (Vol. 10). NYU Press.