Learning while black

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

5 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

10/20/2009

Category :

Arts & media

Sub category :

Journalism

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Summary :

Introduction
Diversity and the majority population
1. Huckleberry Finn
2. The situation in Chicago
Transparency on whiteness
Embracing blackness
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

There were no African-American literature or history courses at Northern Michigan University, so when I learned that the concentration for American Literature III would include the Harlem Renaissance, I jumped into the course. Two months later and the only black person we'd talked about in the class was an uneducated slave named Jim in Mark Twain's book Huckleberry Finn, for which white students got to read the word "nigger" repeatedly aloud in class. I was the only black student in the class and after seeing the word in the book so many times; I continuously volunteered to read aloud because my ears almost bled from hearing the racial slur amongst white students. I can't stand saying the word, so I definitely didn't want to hear white people say it.

After the end of this book, I finally approached my professor and asked her when we were going to talk about black writers. Her response was: "I throw that in at the end," as if I'd asked her what happened to the instant gravy for the steak and potato meal. I was so offended by her comment that I went to the Head of the English Department.