Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a realistic fiction written by Mildred D. Taylor. It talks about an African American family owning land unlike others. The book talks from the perspective of Cassie Logan and illustrates several conflicts between different races. On one occasion, Cassie and his brother Little Man noticed that the books were originally distributed to the white children and only given to black children once they wear out. Constant humiliations from the powerful white people occur and make the black people’s life miserable during that time.
The book is a typical example of the racial discrimination and inequality that African American people have been facing for centuries. Despite their hard work and efforts for improvements, they still have low social and economical status as compared to the white people. Because African American are traditionally being undervalued, in recent years, a social movement called Black Lives Matter emerged to fight against racism and any anti-black violence. It demands more attention to be paid to the lives and humanity of African American in general and it becomes influential internationally.
We’re living in a very diversified world, which consists of many different races. Take North America as an example, where the story took place. Caucasians are the majority population, while Asians, African Americans, American Indians, and natives in different places are the minority. While we fight for black lives, we should not ignore the discrimination that happens frequently in other races. Asians are also known to be targeted in a Caucasian dominating society. People who make meaningful contributions to society deserve to be respected and valued. Therefore all lives count.
Although racial discrimination is a very serious societal problem, I think there are resolutions to the problem. Firstly, similar to the Black Lives Matter, newspapers and social media should cover the stories of people being discriminated against by their races to raise more awareness and sympathy of any kind of discrimination against any races. Secondly, I think the government should take the lead in establishing laws that promote more equality among all races. In this way, people can be properly protected by laws and regulations. Last but not least, the education of all lives matter should be provided to children early on and pass down the concept through generations.
In conclusion, I think Row of Thunder, Hear My Cry is an interesting yet educational book. I learned that no matter what races people are and what skin color they have, we should treat them equally. Racial discrimination can happen anywhere in the world, and it is a serious societal problem. But there are resolutions for it, such as law enforcement and public education. We can make a difference if more people are aware of the problem and value the importance of others’ lives. All lives matter and it is vital to stand up for it.
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