Michel Rodrigues
ENG 095-111
Writing Prompt #2
Option 4

A Case of Racism

Good morning people of the jury. What if I told you, you aren’t aloud to have dreams? What if I told you that your goals aren’t prudent and that you will have to settle for less? What if I told you that as a child you would be stripped of all your aspirations and that you would never amount to the capabilities of your peers? Finally what if I told you that the reason why you cannot have these dreams and why your goals aren’t prudent and why you will never amount to your peers are because of your skin color. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury what if I told you that in your academic career you would be a victim to racism. If I held a position where I influence you, logically everything I say or do can have a dramatic impact on your life. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury what if I said to a student, “You’ve got to be realistic… A lawyer is no realistic goal…”(Mascot pg. 34). As a man in a position of high regard, and a role model and mentor these words are profoundly discouraging. Although, the student triumphs over their peers academically, for some reason this student does not suit my standards. These are words of advice Mr. Ostrowski had given to a young Malcolm X. Malcolm had the highest grades in his class, But Mr. Ostrowski belittled him but not his peers. Malcolm stated that the students, “All reported that Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged what they had wanted, yet nearly none of them had earned marks equal” (Mascot, pg. 34) to his own. Even though he was the smartest in the class, he still wasn’t intelligent enough, like his fellow classmates to be what he wanted to be (Mascot, pg. 34). What I find to be interesting is that Malcolm was never capable of reading or writing during his younger years at school and it would be in prison that he learned to read and write. Malcolm said, “I could for the first time pick up a book and read now begin to understand what the book was saying.”(Learning to read, pg. 1.) How could his teachers consider him as an academic star with no actual content to grade? Or was it only based off behavior? Malcolm X received good grades because as long as he was following the rules and wasn’t acting up he would then be categorized as a good student in Mr. Ostrowski eyes. Now I ask you, what happened if Malcolm did step out of line and did act up, what happens then? People of the jury, what if you had walked into a classroom one day with a hat on and your teacher ordered you to keep the hat on, and told you to walk around and around the room until he told you to stop and said “ that way, everyone can see you. Mean while, we’ll go on with class for those who are here to learn.”(Mascot pg. 27) Is this ethical for a teacher to be doing this to you a student, to ridicule you the “smartest” kid in class just because you walked in the classroom with a hat? What if told I you Mr. Ostrowski said this to you, would you feel like he’s reprimanding you just because of a silly hat? Now close your eyes and imagine if you were White. (A time to kill)

Works Cited
X, Malcolm. "Mascot." The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Print.
X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read." The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Print.
A Time to Kill. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Warner Home Video, 1997. Film.