After reading Between the World and Me by Ta Nehisi-Coates I had a reinforcement of what I defined as a race. According to the dictionary, the definition of race is a grouping of humans defined by physical or social qualities. I agree with this definition I think that race is a group of people who come from a place of the world that embraces a specific culture. However, I strongly believe that race and education go hand in hand it’s important to learn about other backgrounds not only for the purpose of understanding but to avoid any conflict due to mixed opinions. Since as long as modern civilization has become prominent humans have clashed with each other due to a difference in opinion. Something that still goes on till this day and is referenced in the text Between the World and Me Coates references the black lives matter movement in particular deaths that have impacted the movement, for example, Coates references Eric Garner a man who died at the hands of white officers for selling cigarettes without a license. The cops were using excessive force for such a nonviolent crime. What makes the situation terrible is Garner’s death was the cause of an underlying issue which is racism. Coates has a perfect line that resonates with the situation “ sell cigarettes without proper authority and your body can be destroyed’’ referencing that just because of the color of one’s skin you could potentially be killed.
Written language is an inferior spoken language for a simple reason when something is written it can be interpreted by the reader in any which way the reader may want to interpret it. However, when something is spoken out loud you can see the facial reactions you can hear the person’s tone. Just facial reactions and tone of voice can indicate how the person is using words. A perfect example would be from the text by Gloria Naylor where she talks about how she first realized the power of the n-word and how it’s double-sided when someone outside of black people the word can be harmful but when a black person uses it losses its negative power
