Throughout history, the African-American community has been repeatedly oppressed only to triumphantly overcome their adversity. Unfortunately though, there are still facets of America that discriminate against Blacks. The multitude of laws and protection put up by the American government does not stop the subtle but powerful tactics at degrading a large and important portion of our population. The literary works of subjugated Blacks gives us an incite into the world of the Blacks in a White man’s world. Many of these pieces are regarded as some of the greatest literature of all time. This is true with Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, which depicts the struggles of a Black man and explains how he was invisible “simply because people refused to see [him]” (Ellison). Published in 1952, the problems outlined by Ellison still exist today. The Black community is being shunned and covered up. This …show more content…
The district described the novel as “filthy” and “lacking literary value” (Quinn). History disagrees with them, because in 1953 Invisible Man won the National Book Award over the likes of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man at the Sea and John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. It has also been included in multiple top book lists including Time’s 100 Best English Language Novels since 1923. A school official stated after parental complaints that it was “too much for teenagers to handle” (Quinn). However, how can we expect to learn from the mistakes our forefathers made if we deny ourselves the knowledge of their mishaps? By doing so you are breeding a new generation to think the same as the last rather than acquire all the information possible and act as informed productive members of society. Whether