It's still hard for me to fathom that humans could ever treat other humans as if they were property and feel that this was okay simply because society allowed it. School has taught us about racism and discrimination ever since we were little, but I think this essay was the first to show me just how horrible it was. This could partially be because it was written from the author's point of view, whereas most other papers I've read on this subject were written from the outside looking in.
Richard Wright organized his life story by the different places he worked for. With each job, he reached a new depth in his "Jim Crow Education," finally mastering the technique of correctly submitting to white men (and women) during one of his last jobs at a hotel as a hall-boy. Because they could, white men had allowed the most insignificant acts (done by black people) to send them into an explosion of violent rage against any black person that crossed them. Can you imagine what would happen if someone acted like that today? They'd be thrown into jail or an insane asylum. We should be proud to have come so incredibly far since the Jim Crow Laws.
I've definitely thanked the stars that times have changed. I can't even imagine how much worse the Jim Crow society would get if the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement hadn't succeeded. Racism is slowly dying out. I hope one day it will be a thing of the past.
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