This section of the book paints a picture of what white privilege truly is. Coates begins the section by describing his concerns for down playing the horrific events of slavery and civil war. Coates criticizes what many would describe as "Southern Pride" such as the use of confederate flags and other artifacts that seem to detract attention from the horrors of slavery and instead focus on Southern, white soldiers.
Coates also discusses the importance of taking pride in his culture and being unapologetically himself, and he encourages his son to do the same. Coates states that he spent his life chasing the "Dream," a very white-washed version of reality, and he realizes the importance of taking pride in his own culture. I was struck by this quote in which Coates describes the "Dream" that many Americans hold: "... to grow rich and live in one of those disconnected houses out in the country, in one of those small communities, one of those cul-de-sacs with its gently curving ways, where they staged teen movies and children built treehouses... The Dream seemed to be the end of the world for me, the height of American ambition (116)." What Coates describes is a typical suburban neighbor, probably predominately white - a reality that he, himself, a black man, so desperately wanted.
I think so often of the dominance of white culture and privilege in America which has distorted how not only white Americans view the "Dream," but also black America. In Coates' life, he envisioned success as acting and living as white Americans. This shows how white privilege has destroyed much of the uniqueness and beauty of other minority cultures and diminished their voices and stories. I think this section of the book serves as a powerful reminder in my life to support the minority groups in my community in free expression of their culture and their inherit beauty and value.
Coates also discusses the importance of taking pride in his culture and being unapologetically himself, and he encourages his son to do the same. Coates states that he spent his life chasing the "Dream," a very white-washed version of reality, and he realizes the importance of taking pride in his own culture. I was struck by this quote in which Coates describes the "Dream" that many Americans hold: "... to grow rich and live in one of those disconnected houses out in the country, in one of those small communities, one of those cul-de-sacs with its gently curving ways, where they staged teen movies and children built treehouses... The Dream seemed to be the end of the world for me, the height of American ambition (116)." What Coates describes is a typical suburban neighbor, probably predominately white - a reality that he, himself, a black man, so desperately wanted.
I think so often of the dominance of white culture and privilege in America which has distorted how not only white Americans view the "Dream," but also black America. In Coates' life, he envisioned success as acting and living as white Americans. This shows how white privilege has destroyed much of the uniqueness and beauty of other minority cultures and diminished their voices and stories. I think this section of the book serves as a powerful reminder in my life to support the minority groups in my community in free expression of their culture and their inherit beauty and value.
I like how you brought up how that Coates brought up how Coates discusses how impotent it was for him to have pride in his own culture rather than following the regular norms. Also, I agree with your statement about how white culture surprise other cultures. a lot of times I think that our culture tries to make everyone else fall into our culture rather than accepting their cultures and adapting to it. I think that we all need to figure a way for every culture to live in harmony rather than just telling people that they need to be normal and be more like us
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