Essay On The Secret Life Of Bees And Crips

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The four texts I have chosen are Crips and Bloods: Made in America directed by Stacy Peralta, The Secret Life of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd, The Help directed by Tate Taylor and Selma directed by Ava DuVernay. These texts all have the theme of segregation of black and white people in America. Segregation in America in the 1960s was a very large issue at this time, yet is still a part of our society today.
A significant connection that unites the two texts Crips and Bloods and The Secret Life of Bees is the theme of segregation of black and white people. In The Life of Bees, Zach dreams of becoming a lawyer despite his skin colour. He believes he can be the best lawyer out there, and so does Lily, Zach’s close friend. Zach’s disadvantages inspire him to work hard for his future. In the same way, Kumasi, a former gang member, explains how police regularly reminded the black children in the gangs how they would have a limited future because of their race. This was the effect of the black children being rejected by white extra-curricular groups such as the Scouts of America. They grew up alienated and angry and began to fight one another instead of the state. This is where The Secret Life of Bees and Crips and Bloods differ. While Zach …show more content…

Segregation was an important issue in the 1960s because it separated blacks and whites. Black people were treated like lower class uneducated citizens. In The Help and Selma, both Skeeter Phelan and Martin Luther King believed that African Americans are not any less of a person than white people. Zach from The Secret Life of Bees and the children in gangs from Crips and Bloods: Made in America differ because Zach has the support and education he needs to believe in himself and his future. The children of gangs have support, but it is not in the same caring ways. Their lives revolve around violence and guns, they are not encouraged by their peers to become successful businessmen like Zach