The BFI Class Reads The Fire This Time, (A New Generation Speaks About Race)

In their AP English Language class, students read this collection of essays, edited by Jesmyn Ward. As Charlie Phelan put it, “The Fire This Time is a book compromised of numerous essays that demonstrate racial inequalities present in our society. These essays speak to the different manifestations of racism in society and the impact of discrimination on different people, expressed through a compilation of essays.”  

Cover via Bloomsbury.

Students went on to compare various essays to other works of art. Here are their writings.

Alberto Balbuena  

In The Fire This Time, the short story "The Weight” can be compared to a photograph of Melba Patillo and the Little Rock Nine walking alongside armed officers, both pieces capture the immense pressure and weight placed on Black individuals who challenge societal norms. The story of “The  Weight” describes the author Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah’s experience working an editorial internship at the New York headquarters of one of the oldest magazines in the United States. During her internship she was assigned tedious tasks and was reminded that she was one of the first Black interns. During her internship, she felt nervous and inferior among her other mostly white interns. The famous photograph on the other hand, illustrates Melba Pattillo and The Little Rock Nine, who were a group of nine African American students who integrated an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. While both capture the intense pressure placed on Black individuals, Ghansah’s story represents the internal battles faced by isolated individuals and the photograph of The Little Rock Nine represents the external or physical challenges faced by these individuals.  

In the short story “The Weight” by Rachel Ghanasah, she explains the pressure, emotional doubt and unwantedness she experienced while working an internship at a notorious newspaper headquarters.  In the story, the protagonist explains how she was most comfortable with her fellow interns and others  who did not work on the editorial board, stating: “With them, I did not have to worry that one word  pronounced wrong or one reference not known would reflect not just poorly on me but also on any Black  person who might apply after me” (26). This passage fully represents the meaning of the story’s title; she feels the weight of the whole Black community on her shoulders. In her mind, her actions, good or bad are not only judged individually but they reflect the entirety of the Black community. Furthermore, during a conversation with her coworker she states: “I was informed that I was (almost certainly) the first Black person to ever intern at the magazine and there had never been any Black editors” (24). The passage shows how she was the first to work at the notorious newspaper station. She realized that in the 150 years that the office was open, there had not been another Black worker. She begins to question her worth and discredit herself by thinking she was a product of affirmative action. After her awkward encounter with her coworker she states: “Instead of comforting my concerns they made me feel like an oddity” (25). This passage expresses her sense of exclusion highlighting how she felt different from everyone working there. The picture of The Little Rock Nine students who integrated Little Rock Central High School after the Supreme Court ruled segregation in schools unconstitutional represents the physical pressure and challenges faced by African Americans. The group of students faced extreme hardships upon making the decision to integrate an all-white school where they were not wanted. They were attacked and terrorized day in and day out from being held under scalding water to being burnt by acid; the Little Rock Nine group was attacked by most students at Little Rock High School in 1957. Due to the enduring violence at the time, the group was assigned a protective unit to deter violence. This emphasizes the great physical violence endured by the group of brave students who were representing the entirety of the Black community by courageously integrating themselves into an all-white school. 

Leo Behzad 

In The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward, the piece Where Do We Go from Here? by Isabel Wilkerson draws an interesting parallel between cycles of similar events and history repeating itself, much like Tim Marshall does in his book The Power of Geography. Ward’s anthology of short pieces of literature, including essays and poems, covers the theme of race in modern America. Wilkerson’s contribution to the collection is a short essay in which she argues that the regression in liberties and the increase in racial violence in the United States in today’s day and age is a cycle that has repeated itself multiple times over the course of the history of the nation. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, the racial issue persisted in the United States, just like it did during the post-civil war era, during and after Reconstruction. The Civil war, a conflict between North and South that largely started because of slavery and one that was later proclaimed by President Lincoln as a sort of crusade against slavery, was won by the abolitionist North. With the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, all slaves were legally freed in America; however, in practice, many slaves were bound by extreme poverty to continue working for their masters under many of the same conditions as before the Proclamation. The African American congressmen of the Reconstruction era, Wilkerson argues, directly followed by the implementation of Jim Crow laws and the founding of the KKK constitute only one of many examples of the advancement and then the reactionary regression of the rights and liberties of African Americans in the United States.  

Similarly, Tim Marshall examines a large number of geographical factors that cause cycles of violence or conflict to occur in certain regions of the world in his book. For example, he cites the Great European Plain, a vast expanse of flat, non-mountainous land stretching from East Germany all the way to the Ural Mountains, as the reason that explains a large portion of the wars in European history. He argues that any great power with territory, especially territory of great importance, along this plain would wish to control it in its entirety, so as to not be surprised by an invading enemy that would easily be able to maneuver troops and supplies across its practical topography. Marshall writes that this geographical factor influenced the Mongol Invasions of the Middle Ages, the Napoleonic Wars and The First and Second world wars. He therefore states that Russia’s aggressive action in today’s world, such as the invasion of Ukraine, is due to more factors than meets the eye, mainly geographic ones, and constitutes a simple repeat of history. Many parallels can be drawn between the work of both authors, however, Marshall’s work gives a concrete reason for the existence of the cycle, whereas Wilkerson’s does not. As such, both Wilkerson and Marshall’s arguments in their pieces explain modern-day events and phenomena as being part of a larger historical cycle of events that hasn’t ceased to turn for many hundreds of years.

Lorenzo Corzo-Sandino  

In The Fire This Time, the bestselling anthology of essays, edited by Jesmyn Ward, compiles essays and poems that discuss the hardships of racism in the United States and the history of this practice. The short story, "The Weight," written by Rachel Kaadzi Ghasah, talks about racial barriers in the literary world, the burden of Black writers, and her fascination for writing. Similarly, a film named American Fiction, directed in 2023 by Cord Jefferson and starring Jeffrey Wright explores these same themes and dilemmas.  

One major similarity between the two pieces of art is their precise examination of the difficulties Black writers experience in the literary world. In The Weight, the narrator describes working as an unpaid intern at an illustrious magazine, where she soon discovers “the lack of diversity” (Gansah 25) as she is the only Black intern. Due to this, she feels racial exclusion and the sensation of solely being picked so that the company is shown as being progressive. Similarly, American Fiction morally critiques the publishing industry's preference for profiting from negative tropes and not permitting real authentic Black stories to be read by the world’s eye. This is the force that makes him write a story filled with these stereotypes, using vocabulary that members of a thug affiliation would use, even going to the lengths of naming his novel the “f word”. Even with these shocking characteristics he would still grow economically prosperous. This symbolizes that when readers would read a novel from a writer of a different race, they would rather consume the stigmas than they already know than to genuinely learn the reality.

Despite their similarities, a key difference between these two works is their method of approach 

to critiquing these disparities and racial issues. The Weight is a personal reflection, blending personal experiences to explore the real struggles of African American people and writers, while at times alluding to historic information. It exemplifies this in quite a grim tone, to show that the reader has a deep burden with these types of subjects, giving her deepest emotional thought process. However, American Fiction utilizes complete satire to not only critique the publishing industry and the country’s racial biases but also to blatantly show the absurdity of it. For example, an amazing written scene portrays the main character named Monk who goes to a bookstore in order to find some of his novels. After asking a man that works there, he sees his books, in the African American Studies section. This observation enrages him, making him discover that though his novel does not talk about Black History, the reason that it is placed in that section is because he is Black. Due to this, his pieces of literature that have whole different meanings and purpose and end up being desecrated. However, this strong scene is fabricated in such a way that the spectator will believe it to be humorous while seeing the deeper picture. In conclusion both of these pieces discuss the theme of racism, with similar situations however in a different tone for the spectator or reader to process to process it more seriously or more satirically.

Solal Duhaut-Bedos 

In one of the essays in The Fire This Time, titled "Lonely in America", focuses on the author’s investigation into the mass segregated graves where slaves were buried in Portsmouth, and her emotional with this issue as an African American woman. Throughout her story, she explores the historical aspect of slavery but also uses this historical information to comment on modern-day issues of race and discrimination, specifically the attempt made by some to cover up the dark past of white America. For example, when she goes on a tour to learn more about the history of the slave trade in Portsmouth, the tour guide uses the word “servant” instead of “slave”. This displays how he is almost embarrassed of this aspect of his country’s history, preferring to ignore it to avoid having to address a difficult topic. The concept of trying to forget history is further reinforced when she goes to the former “Negro Burial Ground”, realizing after a while that “my car was probably sitting on top of people” (45). This shows how even the author subconsciously had forgotten about the history of slavery, even though it was directly under her feet, leading to her quest for memory of America’s history by investigating these mass graves.  

I found this idea comparable to the Spanish documentary The Silence of Others, produced by Pablo Almodovar, which focuses on the victims and family of victims of Francisco Franco’s tyrannical reign over Spain, and specifically the lack of justice for these people. Indeed, after the end of Spain’s nationalist dictatorship in 1975, the new Spanish Republic’s government made the choice to create the Pact of Forgetting, which avoided confronting the consequences of the last regime by not acknowledging either the crimes committed by the nationalists, or their victims.  Almodovar’s movie interviews victims of the regime and families of victims, displaying the incredible unfairness of this system. One of the most important interviews, which can be seen in the trailer, is of an old woman whose republican mother was murdered and buried in a mass grave, similarly to slaves in Portsmouth. In the documentary, they visit the highway that now covers the place where the woman’s mother, among many others, were buried. In both of these examples, victims of oppression were placed into mass graves, which were then ignored for years in a movement to forget the past. Furthermore, both Almodovar’s movie and Walters’ essay serve as an investigation into these issues, and a message on the importance of facing the harshest aspects of our past, which Walter's writing, “when a story is unpleasant, it is hard to focus on details that allow you to put yourself in the place of the subject.” Again, she illustrates the difficulty of addressing the dark aspects of a country’s history, as they are the ones that require the most empathy to understand.

Milo Lanzenberg  

“The Weight” by Rachel Kaazdi Ghansah discusses the seriousness of being a Black first-year intern at a mainly white magazine office. There is a mix of nervousness but eagerness because Ghansah has to make the right impression on her peers because her behavior and actions reflect on all Black Americans, hence “the weight” attached to this job. Ghansah begins the story with her thoughts on James Baldwin’s house in France and the Black experience in America. She then relates this to her personal experience: her internship at a magazine office.  She talks about the expectations she had to face: being funnier, doing her work faster and better than her white counterparts but also the stereotypes she had to debunk. The dominant theme of the story being that the young woman must work twice as hard to overcome stereotypes.  

“Guess who’s coming dinner” (1967) is on the surface, an American rom com is on a deeper level, a profound commentary on race relations and stereotypes. It follows Joanna Drayton and Dr. John Prentice as they navigate their romance while their parents must come to terms with segregation of marriage at the time. The film was a success. It covered a very pertinent subject: interracial marriage at a time before Loving vs. Virginia. It was a contentious subject, and the characters were representative of the different views of the subject. Dr. John Prentice, for example, was supposed to be a reflection of Black men who were ridiculed and faced (and still face) struggle due to prejudice and systemic racism despite their advanced studies, quality of character: the Draytons are willing to give Prentice the blessing before they found out he was Black. The movie was a success though, it showed social mobility for an incredibly marginalized population.  

There is one defining characteristic of the short story and the film: Black social  mobility into a white world. Dr. Prentice is marrying a white woman; he must gain the blessings of the parents which is an uphill battle due to their prejudices. Rachel Kaazdi Ghansah, on the other hand, has to break into magazine writing, a dominantly white field as a Black woman. Her uphill battle is in the form of proving to her peers that she is in fact overqualified and a hard worker. Although there are differences such as lieu and time, the battle against stereotypes is still present in both media. Societal expectations and challenges to norms are themes that are incredibly present as well. Both Rachel Kaazdi Ghansah and Dr. John Prentice are incredibly qualified and intelligent individuals who are breaking into a white world where they are undermined due to the color of their skin. They are, to white people, representations of Black people and so they sort of have to be on their best behavior due to stereotypes, as tragic as it is. 

Mia Moser-Gitter 

The third story included in The Fire This Time, “Lonely in America,” contains aspects that reminded me of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.  

At one point in her essay, Wendy S. Walters explains why she went to the African American grave in Portsmouth: “But something about hearing that Africans are buried beneath a public street in a small, coastal New England town gave me a new context to reconsider what is obvious and how one might learn to live with it. I knew I had to go there to see the people, even if they were still tucked in tight, if I was ever going to start letting go of the expectation that I could someday feel less lonely in America” (41). Essentially, the act of going to the graves, learning about the people buried there, and sharing their story gives her a sense of purpose. The main character in The Joy Luck Club, Jing-Mei, faces a similar arc in her story. After her mother, Suyuan, dies unexpectedly, Jing-Mei discovers that she has two sisters in China that she had never known about. Encouraged by her mother’s three best friends, she decides to travel to the Asian country. On this trip, she learns more about her heritage and the truth behind her mother’s secrets, giving her a sense of purpose and direction in her life.  

The two stories also have similar themes. In Tan’s novel, the main concern of all four of the mothers is how and if they will be remembered by their daughters. During their youths in China, the four of them had to face many traumatic and life altering experiences. The most important example of this is Suyuan’s backstory: while fleeing the Japanese invasion during World War II, she was forced to abandon her twin daughters on the side of the road, not knowing if she would survive to take care of them. After arriving in America, she lived the rest of her life with immense guilt, not knowing if her daughters were alive or not. This resulted in her strained relationship with Jing-Mei, who was unaware of her mother’s past. Right before her death, she found the address of her twins and was planning on reconnecting with them. When raising their daughters, all the mothers tried to instill in them a deep understanding of their heritage while attempting to save them from the traumas they had to go through. The daughters ended up not understanding their mother’s motivations. In “Lonely in America,” Walters emphasizes the importance of memory: the main reason she goes to these unmarked grave sites was essentially to mourn and commemorate the Africans. With the example of the tour guide using the word “servant” instead of “slave,” she details her worry that people are misrepresenting and forgetting about the true horrors that occurred during the slave trade. 

Julian Murchison  

"Precious Jewels by the Sea" by Amy Sherald

I found that the story of “Homegoing, AD” by Kima Jones from The Fire This Time is similar to the painting "Precious Jewels by the Sea" by Amy Sherald, a Black portraitist who notably painted Michelle Obama’s official portrait, as both pieces attempt to show an unrepresented reality of Black life. The text by Jones starts out by qualifying itself as “the down south story we didn’t tell you” (15). Sherald in her piece aimed to increase the visibility of Black Americans using an Americana-esque setting to emulate, in her distinct style, paintings of White people in America doing mundane activities like going to the beach. Both Jones and Sherald are trying to defy the norm when it comes to representations of the lives of African Americans. Both pieces are unique, ironically, for their representations of Black life as normal. Jones’s story is that of cousins, which could also be the case in the painting, who are together, united, having fun in the heat of the southern summer. While the story has a bit of a sad undertone in light of the grandfather’s passing, the painting is even more simplistic in its representation of Black people who are together and, while it may not be indicated by their facial expressions, in a joyous setting. Both pieces emphasize finding joy in simplicity. Sherald’s painting depicts an umbrella and a basket as the sole items. They find joy and comfort from being together and from their physical environment. The same can be said for Jones’s piece in which the cousins are united by kinship ties and “brown liquor” despite the hostile setting, in light of the heat and the gators. The cousins are so wrapped up in each other and the moment that the sadness previously cited in the text seems to go away, at least temporarily.  

The focus of neither of the pieces is inner-city violence, Black suffering due to racism, or Black plight in general. They represent the day-to-day, nuanced lives of Black people who are happy. Neither represents perfection, the story much less than the painting, but they represent reality.

Anouk Charlie Parreira 

In Kima Jones’ short essay “Homegoing, AD”, she recalls her travels to Charleston, in South Carolina, for her grandfather’s funeral, along with family members, notably her mother and Jack, who is afraid to fly; thus, they must journey by car for 16 hours.  Throughout this adventure, she and her family honor their ancestors, as they admire and explore the ancient southern landscapes. During the trip, she allows herself to reflect on her past, her history, and her suffering in this moment versus the suffering of her descendants and of all the African Americans that stood on that very stretch of land decades before her. As she ventures through the landscape, a controlling metaphor of revisiting the past and confronting historical and personal legacies forms, connecting her to her roots and illustrating their importance, even in her contemporary life.  

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Banjo Lesson, 1893, oil on canvas,

124.5 × 90.2 cm (Hampton University Museum, Hampton, VA

“The Banjo Lesson” by Henry Ossawa Tanner (shown above), portrays a Black child being taught how to play the banjo by an elderly African American man. Built with blurry, shaded lines, and muted colors, dark and light, this painting displays the forged generational bond between ancestors and descendants of African American history, and the guiding light of the past, symbolizing wisdom, family, and the continuity of culture.  It represents the passing of knowledge and experience to kin, generating a sense of ethos and dignity of Black people today thanks to history. Instead of being hurt by the past or fearing its revival, observers of this piece can feel relief and reliance on those 

who came before them as well as a connection to their people’s past, much like in Jones’ story.  

These two pieces are strongly correlated through purpose. They both strive to repair the bond between previous and current, to mend the bridges broken by fear and disassociation, to link the sacred and seemingly untraceable to the modern essence of the present. In Kima Jones’ writing she mentions “the down south story we didn’t tell”, almost as if it was a new discovery. In fact, what she aims to reveal through the course of the adventure is the truth of African American history, similar to meaning of Tanner’s painting: African Americans are not alone; they have their ancestors to advise and accompany them though all struggles.

Charlie Phelan 

The Fire This Time is a book compromised of numerous essays that demonstrate racial inequalities present in our society. These essays speak to the different manifestations of racism in society and the impact of discrimination on different people, expressed through a compilation of essays. I will be comparing The Weight, an essay written by Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah that recounts the author’s experience with racism as well as her relationship with James Baldwin as an artist and a strong influence, with Whiplash, a film directed by Damien Chazelle that tells the story of a promising young drummer who pursues his musical passion under the orchestration of a ruthless instructor. The primary comparison that will be made will concern the presence of insecurity and pressure in the workplace. 

In The Weight, the author speaks to the uneasy feelings that were a result of her being the only Black employee at a magazine company. Early in the author’s time at the company, she was alerted of her status as the anomaly of the company, being the only Black person employed. The apprehension of her status as an outlier kindled a form of paranoia, as the author questioned the reason for her own hiring, speculating that it might have been due to her race. In effect, at her time at this magazine company, she has an abysmal working experience as she is drowned in paranoia and anxiety due to her workplace environment, in which she feels uncomfortable and disturbed, with these feelings being attributable to her exceptional status. 

In Whiplash, Andrew, the main character and rising drummer, is a student at a music school in New York City. At this school, Fletcher is an instructor and a jazz band conductor who has harsh techniques. Early in the movie, Andrew is recruited to Fletcher’s jazz band without a clue about Fletcher’s callous methods. It is once Andrew begins playing for Fletcher’s jazz band that he understands the merciless nature of his conducting process that entails cruel berating and verbal abuse. Andrew’s pursuit of perfection with Fletcher’s band happens at the cost of his mental health as Fletcher’s attitude creates an afflictive environment for Andrew that causes him immense anxiety, fear, and suffering. In effect, during Andrew’s time at the music school with Fletcher, he is victim to constant psychological abuse and haranguing, which results in an uncomfortable environment, in which Andrew feels anxious and perturbed, as a result of Fletcher’s unusual methods. 

Despite the major differences between these two pieces, The Weight and Whiplash share a significant common element, an uncomfortable workplace environment in which the main characters become immensely disturbed and uneasy, thus presenting a strong similarity between the two distinct pieces of art.

Hamilton Ross  

The very first piece of the book in The Fire This Time, The Weight, has a surprising yet intricate connection to Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. They might seem like an odd juxtaposition, but they both convey an emotional and difficult journey while criticizing society. Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah’s The Weight is a deep essay that delves into James Baldwin’s life and legacy through the narrator’s personal experiences. Ghansah sets out on an adventure, aiming to reach Baldwin’s house in France, which demonstrates Baldwin’s influence and impact on her as a writer. This journey can also be taken metaphorically, as Ghansah attempts to grasp the weight of Baldwin’s legacy. Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail is a movie that takes after the legend of Arthur. It follows King Arthur and his knights as they seek the Holy Grail. During their journey, they face a multitude of obstacles and struggles. The film makes fun of societal values, politics, and religion, in a cleverly humorous, and satirical manner.

Despite their differences, both stories unravel an intricate journey that protests against reverence and legacy. For instance, Ghansah acknowledges Baldwin’s contributions to literature but also critiques the manner in which society reveres him. Ghansah discusses Baldwin’s escape to France and the public’s misinterpretation of it. His travels were romanticized, which neglects the harsh racial struggles he and others endured. This mockery of reverence brings to light the deeper issues often ignored by many. Similarly, Monty Python mocks the reverence given to historical and legendary figures like King Arthur and his knights. By portraying them as both inept and cowardly, the film rebukes the glorification of such figures. The Pythons disguise their critiques with humor and underscore the flawed nature of old tales and legends. The two tales also take their stances on societal structures and their flaws. Ghansah harshly critiques societal structures pertaining to race. She highlights the effects of systemic racism and how it continues to affect people of color and presents the inequalities faced by these individuals. The Pythons also use mockery to reprimand governance, religion, and social norms. The abuse of authority in the film satirically mocks monarchy and its failure. Humor is employed to expose flaws and contradictions in this system and similar ones as well. This encourages its viewers to question the effectiveness of such institutions. In conclusion, both stories mock society in comparable ways.  With one discussing an introspective journey, and the other humorously covering a quest for greatness.

Olivia Seixas 

Wendy S. Walters’ Lonely in America depicts the idea of historical erasure, especially pertaining to the African American experience. It is a complex essay detailing the interconnectedness of the Black narrative in the United States, where Walters’ attempts to discover more about the history of New England slavery, and the corpses of slaves that lie paved over with cement. Kara Walker, an American painter, is famous for her silhouette creations that explore various topics, particularly ones that depict racial subject matter. Specifically, her piece Gone: An Historical  Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, which depicts a romanticized idea of the antebellum South that is often portrayed in media such as Gone With the Wind. Both works present multiple similarities yet differ in many ways. 

Lonely in America and Gone share many aspects in common, notably the message behind  their pieces. They both depict the idea of historical erasure, as when Walters’ attempts to uncover more about the past pertaining to slavery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, she is surprised to discover the pervasive sanitization of the town’s background. For example, during a tour of a museum, her docent repeatedly used the term “servant” over slave, a euphemism that implies that the slaves in New England were treated in a better than those of the South. Similarly to Walters’ essay, Gone deals with the idea of romanticization of the antebellum South, where a violent and inhumane past is replaced with an idealized narrative. The figures are depicted in uncomfortable scenes exposing the brutal history of slavery, especially sexual violence towards women. Many figures are represented in graphic scenarios, such as sexual violence, but also illustrate stereotypes often portrayed in popular culture, such as Gone With the Wind. Walker employs a silhouette technique that can be compared to Walters’ essay. They both suggest an invisible aspect to their messages; In Lonely in America, the slaves and the history that she desires to learn about a history that has been whitewashed and significantly suppressed, while Walker chooses to depict the figures faceless, making many of the aspects of the painting largely unknown. The two pieces evoke the idea of erasing the past and replacing it with false or idealized narratives.  

Despite sharing many similarities, both pieces are different in particular ways. The works both exist to propagate the same message yet choose to do so in different ways. In Walker’s artwork, she forces the viewer to face the complete terror of slavery directly, exposing graphic images with silhouetted figures. In doing so, she refutes the idea that any depiction of the antebellum South similar to Gone With the Wind is a realistic version of the true circumstances of the time. Walters’, however, depicts the idea of erasing such history by providing examples of current happenings, where individuals that she encounters continue to moderate the unimaginable horrors of slavery. In doing so, she highlights the importance of urgently addressing this issue. While both works illustrate the same notion of erasure, they do so in very different ways, one choosing to directly portray the cruelty of slavery, and the other depicting events that continue to occur today. 

Lonely in America, by Wendy S. Walters, and Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred b'tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, by Kara Walker are impressive works that express the issue of historical erasure of slavery in similar yet differing ways. 

Luciano Setian 

Jesmyn Ward’s The Fire This Time is composed of a multitude of essays pertaining to various authors' relationships with racial inequality and injustice. “Lonely in America”, situated near the beginning of the collection, details author Wendy S. Walters’s journey grappling with her own loneliness, describing how her personal discovery of the history of racial discrimination in New Orleans and New England helped her deal with her condition to a fair degree. Ultimately, Walters’s story can be compared to Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables, in particular the first portion of the story of Jean Valjean, one of the principal characters of the book. In Volume I, Valjean is an outcast despite being surrounded by other people. Immediately, a comparison can be drawn to Walters, who states that she “was suffering from loneliness” (34) despite being acquainted with her family, notably her Aunt Lou, in the south. Valjean finds himself in this predicament due to the fact that he is an ex-prisoner who has lost his rights. After spending time in prison, Valjean briefly returns to lonely theft before meeting the wealthy and kindly Bishop Myriel, who convinces him to take an honest and righteous path of combating injustice, leading him to find his own purpose.  

Further comparison can be drawn to Walters’s own personal story. Firstly, some major differences are apparent. In contrast to Valjean, Walters is not a criminal and finds herself in a lonely situation comparable to Valjean simply due to the direction her life has taken. However, Walters’s trips to historical sights, particularly the one to Portsmouth, New England, are comparable to Valjean’s interaction with Bishop Myriel in their effect on the respective individuals. While Myriel’s wise words push Valjean to commit himself to honestly, standing up for cases of oppression as Mayor of a French town despite his lonely predicament, Walters’s trip leads to her to create a goal of thoroughly investigating the history of slavery in Portsmouth, despite being “so unmoved” (48) internally by her visit. In regard to how they both render injustice apparent, Valjean uses his influence as Mayor to pardon oppressed individuals in unfortunate situations and stand up for the poor. All of this is accomplished while he deals with his loneliness. He takes difficult steps to accomplish his goal, eventually revealing his identity as  an ex-convict to the chief inspector, Javert, to free an innocent man. Walters’s journey is also somewhat difficult. She must grapple with her internal convictions, including “intense discomfort” (52) and personal problems, before travelling back to Portsmouth to study an archeological report of a gravesite, ultimately allowing her to finally understand it despite its terrible nature, rendering the injustice of the past evident. In this sense, Walters can be compared to Valjean despite the important differences of the scope of their strive and their background.

Lola Sultan 

Isabel Wilkerson’s essay “Where Do We Go From Here?” and the novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas are similar in the sense that they both confront the realities of systemic racism in America, particularly in the context of police brutality and social injustice. However, the two  authors address the topic differently, one using fiction and the other a historical perspective.  Nevertheless, they both highlight the pressing need for change and the distinct impact on  communities and the individuals affected. 

One links between both Wilkerson’s essay and The Hate U Give is their focus on police violence against people of color. Wilkerson explains racial injustices that people of color have experienced from a historical lens and contextualizes how such tragedies like police brutality originate from a long history of racial oppression. Similarly, The Hate U Give also discusses the topic of violence by police against people of color. The novel’s protagonist Starr Carter is a teenager of color who witnesses her childhood best friend Khalil being shot and killed by a white police officer. The story follows how she is able to transform her grief into determination to act and to generate societal change. Khalil’s death, while being fictional, is an extremely realistic representation of many modern tragedies, and it mirrors murders of George Floyd and countless others, reinforcing Wilkerson’s argument that America has consistently failed to address these injustices. 

Wilkerson and Thomas both also emphasize and represent the emotional weigh that racism can hold and the necessity of activism. Wilkerson describes the exhaustion felt by Black Americans who have fought the same battles for generations and centuries, yet she urges them to continue pushing for change. In The Hate U Give, Starr struggles with trauma, grief, and fear, but ultimately channels these emotions into action. Her journey from being a silent witness to an outspoken activist mirrors Wilkerson’s call for society to not only acknowledge racial injustice but to actively work against them. Furthermore, the novel shows different types of activism in a modern context, like protests and social media advocacy, proving that change requires both individual effort and teamwork. Similarly, Wilkerson believes that fighting racism takes real action, not just awareness. Overall, “Where Do We Go From Here?” and The Hate U Give challenge people to face racial injustice and to act out against it.