The Brownie's Book

I think this was an interesting change from the other things we have been reading this semester. When reading "The Grownups Corner" I thought it was interesting that the parent mentioned that her child asked her about colored people doing things. I guess I had never really thought about it before, but it is true that in schools at that time children probable heard a lot about white people and the amazing things that they had done. The child specificaly hearing about "Bersy Ross and Geaorge Washington" but never about black people. I found that this was interesting and I completely agree with the parent that it is so important to hear about these people. A child needs somone to look up to, a person to serve as a role model for them. If the child isn't hearing about these people in school then they need to get the information from somewhere else. As I read through the Brownie's Book I noticed that they did do a good job of mentioning these people. THere were articles on young heroes (the boy who got the little girl out of the fire), Denmark Vesey, Harriet Tubman, and others. This would have been a great resource for young black children.

Passing

I would first like to say that this book is a nice change from what we have been reading lately. It is much easier to read. I was shocked by the part of the book where Clare introduces Irene to her husband. I was surprised that Clare even wanted to introduce a friend of hers to her husband. Clare knew her friend was African American and she knew her husband disliked African Americans so much. I was surprised thaat she would put her friends in such an awkwatd position. He even goes so far as to say that it isn't that he "dislikes them, he hates them". It is actually ironic in a way because he has no idea that the the three women he is surrounded by are actually African American, he is even related to one. Irene is extremenly upset by thier ocnversation because he is being prejudiced toward her race, but she feels like she can't say anything because then she would be exposing her friend who is "passing". It was a difficult position for her to be in and it was inconsiderate of Clare to put her in that position.

The Gift of Laughter

Fauset's piece was an interesting change. Instead of reading literature written by an African American writer we read something more for the purpose of informing us about the plight of the African American. Most of the other works we have read have been narratives such as novels or poems so this was an interesting change. In this piece Fauset explores the use of the African American as a source of entertainment for the white American. For example, she talks a lot about the Georgia minstrels and how they "portray for us the typical Negro which the white world thinks is universal". She is basically saying that whites take advantage of the plight of the African American. They are easy to make fun of because they have historically been thought of as inferior. THey aren't going to fight back either. She also talks about how it is an "unwritten law" that whites make fun of blacks wheter it be through minstrel shows or by other means. She provides us with an interesting perspective on some of our forms of entertainment.