The Autobiography of Malcolm X is one of the most influential pieces of literature we have available today. Being able to read about the events that shaped him into the well-known version of Malcolm X was amazing, to say the least. Growing up, Malcolm X experienced white supremacy in several different ways leading him to want to devote his entire career to fighting it. Experiencing white supremacy, as a black person is one thing, however, actively responding to it is another. Malcolm X acknowledges that, “Something happened which was to become the first major turning point of my [his] life” (35). He then goes on to explain a conversation he had with one of his teachers in 8th grade. This was the first time in his life that he truly starts
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When Malcolm X tells Mr. Ostrowski that he wants to be a lawyer or even a doctor he experiences his first major turning point in his life. Being just in 8th grade and seeing that there weren’t any black layers or doctors in Lansing, he still wanted to be one because he felt like because of his high grades he could fill that niche. However, Mr. Ostrowski responded as follows.
Malcolm one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer – that’s no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. You’re good with your hands--- making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--- you’d get all kinds of work. (Haley …show more content…
A common misconception about schools is that they are now integrated because of the laws against segregation. However, desegregation only applies within districts and not between them (Goldsmith 1916). Because of housing segregation, these districts are more homogenous when it comes to race and class. Even when students of color are in schools that are predominantly white, they face another type of segregation. Second generation segregation is the idea that despite schools themselves being integrated, students stay separated. One example of second-generation segregation is in one study that found that black students are overrepresented in lower level courses and underrepresented in higher-level courses (O’Connor 1234). This is because black students are discouraged to take higher-level courses. This makes the classes look even more homogenous than the school population, which is already overwhelmingly white. When trying to find out how true integration happens Yip reported that, “School-level diversity did not appear to have a main effect on the probability of change or stability in racial identify status. Instead, school diversity was observed to have a joint influence with close friendships and contact in classes and clubs” (Yip et. al 1440). In other words, it doesn’t matter how diverse the school is, just how much interaction happens between groups. With second-generation segregation,
When Malcolm X tells Mr. Ostrowski that he wants to be a lawyer or even a doctor he experiences his first major turning point in his life. Being just in 8th grade and seeing that there weren’t any black layers or doctors in Lansing, he still wanted to be one because he felt like because of his high grades he could fill that niche. However, Mr. Ostrowski responded as follows.
Malcolm one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer – that’s no realistic goal for a nigger. You need to think about something you can be. You’re good with your hands--- making things. Everybody admires your carpentry shop work. Why don’t you plan on carpentry? People like you as a person--- you’d get all kinds of work. (Haley …show more content…
A common misconception about schools is that they are now integrated because of the laws against segregation. However, desegregation only applies within districts and not between them (Goldsmith 1916). Because of housing segregation, these districts are more homogenous when it comes to race and class. Even when students of color are in schools that are predominantly white, they face another type of segregation. Second generation segregation is the idea that despite schools themselves being integrated, students stay separated. One example of second-generation segregation is in one study that found that black students are overrepresented in lower level courses and underrepresented in higher-level courses (O’Connor 1234). This is because black students are discouraged to take higher-level courses. This makes the classes look even more homogenous than the school population, which is already overwhelmingly white. When trying to find out how true integration happens Yip reported that, “School-level diversity did not appear to have a main effect on the probability of change or stability in racial identify status. Instead, school diversity was observed to have a joint influence with close friendships and contact in classes and clubs” (Yip et. al 1440). In other words, it doesn’t matter how diverse the school is, just how much interaction happens between groups. With second-generation segregation,