In the poem “Blink Your Eyes”, by Sekou Sundiata there is a discriminatory attitude towards racial profiling. Racial profiling is simply the belief that because of your race, gender, ethnicity, or religion you may act a certain way. Sundiata’s poem emphasizes one of the many ways in which African Americans are racial profiled in the United States. Sundiata shows us first hand what he experiences being a black man from the ghetto.
The first major element of this poem is the word choice that the author chose to use. He used the word “ride” instead of saying car. The phrase “you dig” instead of saying do you like. He refers to law enforcement as just “Law”. “Law” came to his window and asked, “what’s happening?” Instead of spelling brother correctly, Sundiata spelt it “brutha”. By choosing these phrases and spelling choices the author is trying to best portray how African Americans are believed to have behaved. Although these actions might be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all people of that race act that specific way. This makes me believe that Sundiata is criticizing how the world paints people with a brush only based on the way they speak. Racial profiling plays its role in the way …show more content…
/ This is serious. You could be dangerous.”(Sundiata 39-40) Sundiata is saying that in the news, black people are assumed to be dangerous and that they are up to no good. There is more of a dark humor in this poem. Sundiata is referring to all the social prejudice black people might face, but he is doing it in a more humorous way. The humor is in the scenarios he is using. It’s more a like a joke because all the reasons black people are targeted is just pointless. If a white man was to drive a nice car it would be reasonable, but if a black man was in a nice car he would be looked at as a drug dealer who used his drug money to buy the car he wanted. The Law is using unequal treatment on the way they treat people based on their skin
The first major element of this poem is the word choice that the author chose to use. He used the word “ride” instead of saying car. The phrase “you dig” instead of saying do you like. He refers to law enforcement as just “Law”. “Law” came to his window and asked, “what’s happening?” Instead of spelling brother correctly, Sundiata spelt it “brutha”. By choosing these phrases and spelling choices the author is trying to best portray how African Americans are believed to have behaved. Although these actions might be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all people of that race act that specific way. This makes me believe that Sundiata is criticizing how the world paints people with a brush only based on the way they speak. Racial profiling plays its role in the way …show more content…
/ This is serious. You could be dangerous.”(Sundiata 39-40) Sundiata is saying that in the news, black people are assumed to be dangerous and that they are up to no good. There is more of a dark humor in this poem. Sundiata is referring to all the social prejudice black people might face, but he is doing it in a more humorous way. The humor is in the scenarios he is using. It’s more a like a joke because all the reasons black people are targeted is just pointless. If a white man was to drive a nice car it would be reasonable, but if a black man was in a nice car he would be looked at as a drug dealer who used his drug money to buy the car he wanted. The Law is using unequal treatment on the way they treat people based on their skin