In “Showing My Color,” Clarence Page describes his experiences growing up as a young black male in a society that was set on separating people by the color of their skin. Originally from Ohio, a young Clarence went to visit family in Alabama, where he was surprised to see that there were not only separate facilities for people of different races but that they were labeled “whites” and “colored.” Excited, he took a gulp from a “colored” water fountain only to be disappointed that no colored water came out. That is when his family began to explain that the “colored” sign simply meant that it was only for people of color and the one labeled “whites” was strictly for white people. Although there was segregation in the north, it wasn’t so obviously …show more content…
The media shows the small portion of racist American citizens, causing an uproar by the public, furthering the issue even more. Page grew up in the fifties, when racism was unyielding and far too many innocent people faced discrimination and persecution. After that, racism was heavily lessened by much needed programs, such as Affirmative Action and the Supreme Court ruling on the case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Since then, America has come leaps and bounds past the idea that one group of people can be less than another based off of skin pigmentation. However, while speaking about his son, Page fears that he will go from “someone who is perceived as cute and innocent into someone who is perceived as a menace, the most feared creature on America’s urban streets today, a young black male” (Page 336). The fact that some still feel this way is embarrassingly disheartening and I couldn’t agree less. Many older African Americans who have dealt with severe segregation firsthand, Page for instance, have a justified hatred and fear towards whites. These feelings often get passed down from generation to generation, keeping the tension, discrimination, and racism alive. Since racism is typically thought of as white people being racist to blacks, some may argue that black people cannot be racist since they are a minority. However, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, racism can be defined as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2017). Therefore, it is fair to state that any particular race can be racist to whichever race or races they desire. However, it is completely wrong to state that a young black male is the most feared creature. The United States has come so far since segregation