Race: Diane Romano and Lloyd King

Racism has been a national problem for many years and many people even today are prejudice towards blacks. I thought it would be interesting to read about this section because I was very fascinated with the Civil Rights Movement. I think it is very heroic to fight for values and rights. In the movement, children participated in the demonstrations to allow adults to continue their job and support their family; it made the whites seem even more wrong for arresting innocent children. Though the movements were successful and the Jim Crow Laws were proven unconstitutional, racism is still evident in the nation today and associate blacks with danger.

Just like my mother, Diane Romano, a mother of six children, chose to raise her children to respect and accept blacks. She did not conform to society and tried to show others that blacks are just like whites. She said, "These people are no different from any other people, that they talk and they have manners and they eat like we eat, and they think and they have feelings and they're sensitive and they're artistic, and some of them are strange and some of them are dumb--they are just like we are" (460). Sadly, the society did not understand this and only acknowledged their wrong doings. Diane though soon got a new job as a police-like figure, causing her to grow less sympathetic and avert from her initial, strong beliefs about black Americans. She converted into a citizen that saw "only the bad" and felt guilty (461). Her morals and actions shifted. She stopped correcting her children when they used derogatory terms and she herself began to "classify them all," a sin she wished she had never committed (463). She shared how she was weaker and ashamed when she reverted to her parents' beliefs and began to live in the past, rather than creating a better future for the nation. I feel as if Diane became two-faced and hypocritical because she stopped standing up for her beliefs to conform to society, but at the same time she chose to stay with her church because she believed they were different, they were "exceptions" (464). Those that worked with her were also exceptions. But those on the streets and in town were not, they were dangerous. This shows Diane's confusion, for she no longer knew where she stood and what she believed in. She tried practicing her values she once strongly supported, but with the pressures of society she conformed and did not stand up for her beliefs. This saddens me because she did understood that blacks were the same as whites and she could have been part of the minority that helped fight for black rights. She could have helped benefit and change the nation, but instead she ignored her inner conflict with racism.

Diane exemplifies the confusion that is apparent throughout the nation. Her story demonstrates the large influence society has on an individual. In Diane's case, the society negatively influenced her and urged her to not fight for black rights. This story reminded me that I have the freedom of speech, to stick up for my beliefs, no matter what. I am not racist or prejudice towards any group of people and I inform people when their comments bother me. I believe that everyone is equal and should be treated equally.
Lloyd King, a biracial man, shared his feelings toward integration, believing that society acts like a tragic biracial marriage because "the tragedy lies in the complex folds of this love and admiration, which is somehow twisted into intolerance" (467). A huge tension coexists with the strong love between two. For King, being biracial created insecurity and a lack of identity; he named himself a "Jewbro" (468). People considered anyone with even one once of black blood in them as a colored person. Growing up in the sixties, King joined the Black Panthers while at the same time realizing that he was interested in white culture. Having this interest in whites, and being biracial, he married a white woman. He believed that it is natural for blacks to love the white culture and whites to love the black culture, but many failed to openly express this due to their shame and conformity. With these strong beliefs, King began denying that he was black by escaping his parents and seeking out music. But music did not completely solve everything because in the clubs blacks and whites mixed; King was unable to escape his tension point of being biracial. At the clubs, the KKK felt threatened and King stated, "The good ol' boys didnt' like the idea of a salt-and-pepper group and threatened to wreck the place" (471). He was not able to fill the void in a white man with his music, causing him to grow more insecure. In 1986 he began teaching at a white college, despite his biracial status. King stayed optimistic and soon realized that with his contribution, he was helping the nation change; the more black teachers at a white school, the more the rules changed. Sadly, his efforts did not come too far in changing the society because of the lack of support. Racism stayed apparent in the nation, but King offered hope that "we can mature" and move forward in life and live together, as one united nation (475).

I chose this story because in English, we are currently reading Light in August and the protagonist, Joe Christmas, struggles with his biracial status and lacks a sense of identity. This novel closely relates to King's story because he is confused with his biracial status, just as Joe Christmas. Having previously been interested in the Civil Rights Movement and reading Light in August,