Richard Wright

"The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" 1937

Notes--
Levels of Discourse: 1) Theory, 2) Drama, 3) Kitchen Table
Purpose in Writing: Prescriptive vs. Descriptive
Symbols: Black Cinders, Broken Milk Bottles
Affecting Justice and Community

I began reading this essay, and my first reaction was shock. I saw these kids throwing cinders and thought, wow, that's evil. Then, I saw another group of kids throwing broken glass and thought, wow, that's also evil. There is a sad irony to the groups' choices of weapons: cinders are the remnants of a fire--something able to bring warmth and comfort and industry; and the broken bottles are said to have once contained milk--something known for its nutrition and life-sustaining properties.

I wonder what it would be like to be in each group and to try to bring change from within each group. Dr. Adrian Rogers, in reference to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, once said you can't stop an idea with a bullet; you stop one idea with a better idea. And part of what proves the quality of your idea is your willingness to suffer for it. It is relatively easy to die for what you believe, but it is significantly harder to live and suffer for what you believe--to take verbal jabs, thick coldness, disregard, even physical abuse. But Oh! what a testimony it produces and a change it can bring:

Jesus on the cross--mocked, maligned; now resurrected, reigning, and bringing life
The United States--without a voice, taxed and taxed; suffered, faught, and gained independence
Gandhi and the people of India--subjugated and suffering; gaining their self-rule
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and African-Americans--segregated, demeaned, fire-hosed; gaining their Civil Rights.