Like Father, Like Daughter

When I was reading the end of the book, I was struck by the fact that Deck Lee was so into his own world that he couldn't take even a moment to find out what had happened to Birdie when he was Brazil. He was just so conceded on his own studies and his book that was about to be complete that he didn't realize how much she had changed.

I felt bad for Birdie because he rationalized himself not coming to find Birdie and Sandy because it was would be "a project." You would think that he would have at least made some sort of attempt to find out if they were still alive and just try to pass a message to them.

I was also quite stricken with the chart “canary in a coal mine." Who would put their children in a chart that showed the history of mulattos and how "desolate or violent" their deaths were? That puts them as a scientific object instead of real people. It also was odd how he mentioned that one of the female girls didn't have a birth certificate so they didn’t know how old she was when she died. Then under the picture of Birdie and Cole, he puts the years that they were born.

It was like he was trying to foreshadow that they would die in a violent way, or that they would be the small step to a bright future.

It saddened me to watch how he would pick his book over his family. That he truly didn't care and waited until the end of their conversation to ask how Sandy was.

Prom Date?

For the race articles we did in class, I got the article about Whos Black, Who's White, and Who Cares- but this post is about another article that I heard about in class.

The article that intrigued me was the one about the school and the prom situation. I think that it's weird that the principal would ask the students if the dates that they were bringing to prom were of their same race. I wonder if this was a decision that he made on his own or if it was something that was a district discussion. I also have to wonder what gratification he gained by canceling their prom.
With it being in 1993, you would also think that people would be passed all of the racism and all. All at this time in age, its weird to think that some people havent moved passed it.

my race-AFRICAN

I do have a race, and I am shaped by it alot. When I first came to Mcfarland, it was very apprent that I was African. I felt it inside and out. When I started to gain friends and be more used to us, I was no longer black but white.

The reason that race shapes me is because I have to break the traditional views that people have of me. I have to do better and be better. This is in other situations, not really at school, I sucks that I go through this.

It sucks when people judge you when they dont know you. At the same time, I love who I am. I'm pretty much white and loving it...yeah right, I am actually black...not so much. My color doesnt define who I am or what I will be.

Advertisments

I never really thought about how advertisments really affect our mental views on gender. On some ads, it is easy to see that there is definte gender characterization. I never really thought about the affect of this in our future and the future of our kids. Its crazy to see that they can be so easily shape by this.

I think that people should try to encourage one another in the skin that they are in. We need more shows that emphasizes being comfortable with you are. Think about how strange the world would be if everyone was the same size. Thats crazy. We should all try to be who we are do things for personal gratification instead of pleasing others.

Sister Sister

I definitely feel bad for Birdie. I think it sucks that she lost her sister. I think I feel for her more because I have a sister, that I kind of lost. I lost her in the emotional sense that we drifted away from one another. We also dont have the same taste in things.
Its so weird because I remember when my sister I were so close that we had planned on getting married on the same day to two people who were best friends and live next door to one another. This was when we were so close that we were afraid of losing one another so we kind of predestined our future so we would always be together forever. (That was when I was young and naive and reality hadnt struck me yet.)

I definitely feel for Birdie because it's like Cole made a future with her other black friends and Birdie is left out. She is in the shadows, and as much as she tries to fit in and be in the same future with her sister, she will neve fit in.

...Colored Me

This is one of the best stories that I have ever read about race. I liked Hurtson's view on her particular race.

One of the lines that resinaded with me was, "I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep."

I really liked this line for two main reasons.

First, I think this line states that a lot of people dwell in the past. They sit there and just think about how they were mistreated and dont move on from that point.

Second, I think that she is using this as a message to a lot of people. She is trying to tell others not to just sit there. Hurton talks about being "off to a flying start." She is trying to tell them that there is alot of opportunities for them to take. And that they can make good out of the bad.

People dont have to sit there and be in a slump ove things. You have to make the best out of an ugly situation and she is doing that. She realizes that her ancestors died, but now she can have a better future. She can accomplish the things people never expected her to.

Speaking in Tongues

This is one of the strangest books that I have ever read. I was amazed by the intensity of the church. It was so weird how the church had such a great rule over its members. If you were a girl, you had to wear clothes that went past your knees and wrist. You also had to ask yourself, "What Would Jesus Do?" before you went anywhere or did anything that you were questioning doing.

I thought that it was extremely strange that the lady had Tia in a headlock. If you ask me, I dont think that God would ever do something like that. He wouldn't want to force people to beileve in him. I think that God would perform a miracle for Tia so that she would believe in him.

I think that this church lost the aspect of God. God is there to help and guide you, not to bring you into a headlock.