Institutional racism is a form of racism expressed in social, political and economic systems. “Between the World and Me”, depicts the institutional racism that plagues the Black community. Such as political, educational, and criminal justice inequalities. The “black body” is forced to create their own sense of self in a world that they do not recognize as their own. The Black body is a metaphor to describe the loss of identity. The body is no longer a physical body but a commodity. “The dream” of white picket fences and racial equality does not exist for the Blacks. The dream is merely a façade created to hide the woes of the average working class Americans. “Good intentions are a hall pass through history, a sleeping pill that ensures the
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However, the schools provided no sense of security. “The streets were not my only problem. If the streets shackled my right leg. The school shackled my left. I came out to see the streets and schools as arms of the same beast” If you failed in school, you would be sent back to the streets. If you failed in the streets you would end up dead. The school system became a revolving door. Black bodies were not taught survival strategies but instead given a rudimentary education. “Schools did not reveal truths, they concealed them.” The school system sugar coated the mass incarceration of African American, injustices at the hands of law enforcement, and the institutional racism engrained in American history. School systems pacified Blacks by giving a false sense of reality. The streets became the teachers, principals and students. African Americans were brought to consciousness through the streets. They were given a first-hand account of the biases in the American justice system. The school provided no means of escape, however it became an excuse to further destroy the black body. Howard University liberated many Blacks from the injustices they faced on a regular basis. In fact, Howard University is where Coates learned about the diversity of the black population. “The history, the location, the alumni combined to create the Mecca, the crossroads of the black diaspora.” The Mecca was a gathering places for Blacks across the country. Blacks were not forced into a bubble where it is them against the white masses. However, the Mecca became a means of escape that many blacks were not provided through the school
However, the schools provided no sense of security. “The streets were not my only problem. If the streets shackled my right leg. The school shackled my left. I came out to see the streets and schools as arms of the same beast” If you failed in school, you would be sent back to the streets. If you failed in the streets you would end up dead. The school system became a revolving door. Black bodies were not taught survival strategies but instead given a rudimentary education. “Schools did not reveal truths, they concealed them.” The school system sugar coated the mass incarceration of African American, injustices at the hands of law enforcement, and the institutional racism engrained in American history. School systems pacified Blacks by giving a false sense of reality. The streets became the teachers, principals and students. African Americans were brought to consciousness through the streets. They were given a first-hand account of the biases in the American justice system. The school provided no means of escape, however it became an excuse to further destroy the black body. Howard University liberated many Blacks from the injustices they faced on a regular basis. In fact, Howard University is where Coates learned about the diversity of the black population. “The history, the location, the alumni combined to create the Mecca, the crossroads of the black diaspora.” The Mecca was a gathering places for Blacks across the country. Blacks were not forced into a bubble where it is them against the white masses. However, the Mecca became a means of escape that many blacks were not provided through the school