ipl-logo

A Letter From James Baldwin's Letter To My Family

1547 Words7 Pages

There is something special about the bond between an aunt and a niece that is like no other. The aunt plays a unique role that is neither like that of mother or grandmother but that of friend and role model. On June 16th, 2002, the day you were born, was an unexceptionally ordinary day but on that day my world changed forever. Since that day I have watched you grow and learn from a small baby, to a child, to the strong, smart, beautiful young woman you are today. I remember the first time I ever held you. You were not my own child but I was awestruck by your presence and I knew from that moment on I would do anything for you, do anything to protect you. You entered this world and you were loved and still are loved immensely. Loved by your parents, …show more content…

To be loved, baby, hard at once and forever to strengthen you against the loveless world”. The world can most certainly be cruel and loveless but the love of those that have shown you true love will act as a counter to that and strengthen you against it. This year you will turn sixteen and then before you or I know it you’ll be graduating and heading off to college. I write this letter in the hopes that you may understand some of the trials you will face heading off to college and into the world as a woman. As a woman you must be keenly aware of the dangers that you may face. As a woman you must be aware of other people’s expectations of you. As a woman you must be aware of the biases that are preset against …show more content…

Throughout history women have been considered as intellectually inferior and the inferior sex compared to the male counterpart. We have been told that “a woman’s place is within the home” to cook, clean, and raise children. Over time, however, we have made leaps and bounds to counter that claim but there are many out there that still believe in these out-of-date thoughts. These people, I believe, are naive to the world around us and the progress we have made throughout society, or perhaps they do not like change and hold on for dear life to those beliefs. Your grandparents are some of those people. They are traditionalists. They believed that I should have been married, started a family, and became a homemaker as soon as I was able. Life did not take me down that path and I cannot help but think they are a little disappointed because of that. However, I did not let that stop me from breaking the mold that they had tried to shape me into by walking down my own path and making my own way through life, mistakes and all. I tell you these things because, as Coates stated, “You are growing into consciousness, and my wish for you is that you feel no need to constrict yourself to make other people comfortable”. Do not constrict yourself for others. Discover your own path, just as I did, and make choices that are true to you. Nevertheless, whatever you choose, know that you are so

Show More
Related
813 Words | 4 Pages

Sarah Dessen used to say that “Accepting all the good and bad about someone is a great thing to aspire to. The hard part is actually doing it. (Dessen, 2013)” Similarly, Barbara Jordan, a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, said “We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves. (Jordan, 2016, 45)”

Read More
1800 Words | 8 Pages

In today's society can we see James Baldwin would response to We see how Trump asked his supporter to hark back to a more glorious day in America prosperity days , to think of their vote as a step in the direction of some yet undefined and unspecified days of the old glory days. His campaign was shockingly transparent in its reliance upon fear, enmity, and degrees of disenfranchisement both real and imagined. When things get rocky, as they have often in these early months, that’s the rhetoric he falls back on. In the trumping world view, America is not great and has not been for a long time . I know James Baldwin would have said the same thing in Donald trump's face today's times.

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

“We all decry prejudice, yet are all prejudiced,” said Herbert Spencer, a famous philosopher. Prejudice is frequent everywhere and difficult to stop. It is very difficult to destroy something in someone’s mind, and it will inevitably be expressed through various methods with different degrees of subtlety. Any expression of this can hurt. Subsequently, in Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, the main theme is that prejudice is everywhere, and can be of varying degrees.

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

From the characteristics of an author’s writing, the reader can tell whether the author’s piece is effective. Despite how long ago they were made, Martin Luther King Jr.’s response to criticism from some clergymen in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and James Baldwin's “If Black English Isn't A Language, Then Tell Me What Is” on the role of language, remain important pieces of writing today because they still relate to the ongoing internal separation between races in America. Their long time recognition has their writing being compared to give readers with insight on how to develop their own argument successfully. King’s essay is more effective than Baldwin’s because of their different style, character, and vocabulary.

Read More
110 Words | 1 Pages

James Baldwin is a man who faced many hardships throughout his life. He has found a way to overcome these challenges which led to his success. He over came being a gay African American in a very controversial time by moving out of the country. He overcame all the challenges that life threw at him and because of that he went from coming to Paris with forty dollars in his pocket to when he died in 1986 being was worth 65 million dollars. Life is full of obstacles we need to overcome, but once you find a way around them doors will open that you thought would always be

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

history woman have been treated like property, they never had a say in politics or in their community. All they did was the care of their household, and see to the well-being of their families. The war created opportunity for women in the north, they took advantage of it, hoping to get equality for all. Mary Livermore explained do, “It is for our young women that the great changes of the time promise the most: it is for our daughters, --the fair, bright girls, who are the charm of society and the delight of home; the sources of infinite comfort to fathers and mothers, and the sources of great anxiety also. What shall we do with them, --and what shall they do with and for themselves?

Read More
317 Words | 2 Pages

While reading James Baldwin's Notes of A Native Son the reader witnesses a series of finely structured sentences. The most moving perhaps, is the final sentence of the penultimate paragraph where in which Baldwin states: "Hatred,which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man that hated and this was an immutable law" This quote acts a thesis for the entire essay, in one perspective it speaks on the destruction of his father's body while on his death bed. The extreme hubris and stubborn attitude held for much of the father's life, which drove so many people away, was eradicated when he was overcome with sickness. Likening the man, at least in Baldwin's eyes, to that of a ruin.

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

In the essay “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin, he expresses feelings of hate and despair towards his father. His father died when James was 19 years old from tuberculosis; it just so happens that his funeral was on the day of the Harlem Riot of 1943. Baldwin explains that his father isn’t fond of white people due to the racist past. He recalls a time when a white teacher brought him to a theater and that caused nothing but upset with his father, even though it was a kind act. Many events happened to Baldwin as a result of segregation, including a time where a waitress refused to serve him due to his skin color and Baldwin threw a pitcher of water at her.

Read More
368 Words | 2 Pages

Along with Baldwin’s opinions, he includes several historical facts that support his reasoning for being on the forefront of fighting for civil rights. The first situation he describes is when his friend Tony Maynard was falsely accused of a crime and put in jail. Lewis M. Steel, the man who tried Tony’s case wrote in an article that “Maynard had been wrongfully accused of a 1967 shotgun killing in Greenwich Village, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to ten to twenty years. Using a shotgun as the murder weapon was completely out of character for this stylish man with an artist’s sensibility” (Steel). When Baldwin heard about this, he became more angry with the Americans than before, increasing the oppression of the African-Americans.

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

James Baldwin was and continues to be a pillar of the black queer community. His words have acted as a source of wisdom and solidarity incitement that is unmatched. In Notes of a Native Son, Baldwin wrote, “I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that.” Baldwin’s life was not only his work, but his work did reflect his hardships and joys. His work told his own story of living in America and identifying as a justice-seeking black queer man.

Read More
435 Words | 2 Pages

Not only in the United States, but rather all over the world, women consistently get looked down upon for various reasons. It might be because of the fact that men believe women are only useful for cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. However, women actually hold a very important role in society. Men often forget that it was a female who brought them into this world. Women also take part in many political affairs and they always try to make the world a better place.

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

In act 1 of Hamlet, prince Hamlet faces a lot of tragedy. The trauma of his father dying, his uncle marrying his mom, a ghost that looks familiarly like his dad, and a forbidden love, Hamlet has no way to cope. Act 1 is centered around his coping mechanism, which I believe to be his father, for the events that are taking a hold of his happiness. Scene 1 sets the stage for the events that are about to follow. Shakespeare opens the play with Marcellus and Horatio guarding the castle late at night.

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

Women have found themselves at the bottom of society’s hierarchal pyramid for eons. Even though females make contributions that prove vital to the world’s function, they are still regarded as the weaker link. The female plight of constantly facing debasement is a pawn used to ensure compliance. It is a common notion that if one is demeaned enough, he or she will conform to the suggested persona. Society tests this notion through its treatment of women.

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

Even if you think that there 's only one path for you, you can always stray away from the path if that 's what

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

Everybody has unconscious bias. But what role does it play in our daily lives? And how does it affect us? In the TED talk “What Does My Headscarf Mean to You”, speaker Yassmin Abdel-Magied aims to encourage the audience to acknowledge that everyone has unconscious bias, and to look past their own bias in order to promote equal opportunity, particularly when it comes to the workplace. “We all have our own biases.

Read More

More about A Letter From James Baldwin's Letter To My Family

Related Topics

Open Document