The history of the United States of America has long been coated. It is remembered today as the advanced, modern, and forward-thinking country. But times in recent history have proved that statement to be wrong, or at least partially incorrect. A memorable yet infamous time was the segregation of the southern United States, which started in 1877. By 1910, many rules were established and upheld against African-Americans. Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson is a wonderful book that sadly depicts the life of a black girl living in the south. She faces much discrimination, yet with her family’s united front and deep belief in family roots and identity, she pulls through and finds herself amidst crowds of people who will ignore her and insult her. She lives in New York for a while, and makes her first female friend there. As the story ends, Woodson finds where she belongs and encourages readers to do the same. The story expresses themes of family and identity throughout the entire story, winding the dark past of American’s history in a heartwarming story.
Not many things rise to the surface at the very beginning, but why usually float, eventually. Sometimes, people keep things hidden for a purpose. Whether it is to harm others or to protect themselves, it is not so clear. During segregation in the Southern states during the 1900s, many black people were discriminated against and forced to live simpler, plainer, and less extravagant lives. Public services that often go unnoticed, like water fountains and buses were even tailored to fit the cruel needs. The black people had to sit at the back of the buses (like in Brown Girl Dreaming), had to use worse water fountains, received less medical care, and had less well-maintained schools, offices, buildings, and neighborhoods. The subtle cruelty that African-Americans faced went unnoticed, because of the small differences and the rest of the population that did not care for their needs. Many white people’s selfishness did not allow them to perceive the world around them without a lens, without a curtain. They only saw the good and did not care to notice how other people may have had worse conditions. And the African-Americans put up with it for most of the time until the Civil Rights Movement. The small things that went unnoticed led to a big change that will forever be remembered. Don’t just keep your eyes on the crack of the ground in front of you. Open up and look at the road in front of you, the sky above you, the trees next to you, everywhere.
Change is something that you do not rely on others to do. You do it yourself, if you don’t get it. Ever heard the quote “Be the change you want to see in the world”? It’s definitely true. Some things cannot wait for others, you’ve got to take action and do it. For a long time during the segregation period, many people did not do anything. They just let it be, and many African Americans suffered the consequences. The lack of spirit and not speaking up about themselves led to the fact that they had to suffer, not others. However, the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1900s really put an end to this. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, and Gail Etienne are all iconic symbols of this powerful and lengthy protest for fairness to everybody. Ruby Bridges’s parents were fierce. They believed that their daughter could be as good as anybody else, leading them to encourage Ruby to do well at school. Because of this, Ruby passed the test to go to an all-white school and thus made history by being the first black child to attend a white school in the south. Her parents’ bravery, commitment, and Ruby’s own innocent determination all led to her launching change in an unfair world. By taking matters into their own hands, Ruby, Etienne, Parks, and King all managed to cast their voice and opinions out into the world. You cannot always rely on others to make something happen that would benefit you. If you want to make your own life better, you do it. It’s your life, anyway.
Having friends and family behind your back to support you and relief in what you can do will do more than what you think. Being able to rely on your family for some support and knowing who you are matters if half of the way to making change. The other half is just putting it to action. Jacqueline Woodson’s book of Brown Girl Dreaming is a wonderful example of how a deep sense of family and identity can help you so much. Woodson’s childhood has always been with her family, spending time with her grandma and grandpa. Despite the feud between her mother and her father, Woodson forms other unforgettable bonds with other members of the Woodson family, especially Grandpa Gunnar with a special connection, and Aunt Kay, a woman who lives next door in New York. Throughout all her experiences, Woodoson is taught to believe in family and find herself within her vast and unique identity. Her African-American heritage puts her at risk of severe discrimination, yet her mothers tells her frequently and reminds her that they are just as good as anyone else, despite the established ideology that has been around for years. The support that her family lends out to her through many means gives Woodson bravery, courage, and a good moral to stand on. She learns that she can do things that arne’t accepted by white society, and that she can thrive and have fun with fellow friends even in less - maintained facilities. Her special relationship with her entire family and deep sense of identity allow her to be able to view the world with critical yet loving eyes, with support on all sides and many core values to refer to. No matter what the world says about you, you are still yourself. Do not let social ideologies get into you, for who you are is defined by your own actions and morals, not others’.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson is truly a book to behold that teaches readers about the importance of making change, not just accepting what you see on the surface, and how having a deep sense of family and identity can help you later in life. The Civil Rights Movement has been a trailblazing time during the segregation of African-Americans and people of color in southern America. Woodoson, in the book, is born during it, when people like Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and many others were all fighting for freedom, though it might have been in different ways. When riding a bus, Woodson, too, has to go to the back and sit there instead of at the front. She experienced sit-ins, marches, and protests about freedom and racial equality. The dark and brutal yet hidden history of America that is told through Jacqueline Woodson’s powerful book is from the core and unglossed. This book, with its focus on life as an African American depicts the world’s delicate balance, a need for equality in order for everyone to thrive.
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