A Persistent Trend
When Thomas Jefferson stated that “All men are created equal” at the beginning of the American revolution, he started a trend that would be continued on for many years. This one phrase started the trend of people fighting for equality for about two centuries. During the 1950’s many African Americans fought for their right, because their men were clearly not created equal. One of the biggest differences between the white and black men in this time period was their level of education. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the character Beneatha symbolizes the differences between the levels of education between the different races at the time period. Throughout the play, Lorraine Hansberry makes it painfully obvious …show more content…
From water fountains to buses, the blacks and the whites were separated. The supreme court had decided that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. However, schools in both of the north and south wanted to keep them segregated. Even though a majority of the abolitionists in the United States lived in the North, there were still segregation problems in the land above. “One of the southern governors has been quoted as saying that all he had to do to learn how to segregate the schools of his state successfully and legally, was to send his assistants to study New York City to learn how it is done there” (Dodson 106) The African Americans were forced into poor schools and received a poor education. “There have been problems growing out of the 2 to 3 year educational lag often noticed in the performance of Negro students by comparison with white students of the same age” (Virginius 377). While whites were allowed into well funded schools and received a generally higher education. One of the main reasons why people thought it was ridiculous for Beneatha to become a doctor was because of these segregated schools. “To go to Africa, Mama - be a doctor in Africa” (Hansberry 122). Since doctors were highly educated people, Beneatha was doubted and even shunned for her dreams. She however, was confident in herself and really symbolized the thought process of colored people in this time
When Thomas Jefferson stated that “All men are created equal” at the beginning of the American revolution, he started a trend that would be continued on for many years. This one phrase started the trend of people fighting for equality for about two centuries. During the 1950’s many African Americans fought for their right, because their men were clearly not created equal. One of the biggest differences between the white and black men in this time period was their level of education. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the character Beneatha symbolizes the differences between the levels of education between the different races at the time period. Throughout the play, Lorraine Hansberry makes it painfully obvious …show more content…
From water fountains to buses, the blacks and the whites were separated. The supreme court had decided that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. However, schools in both of the north and south wanted to keep them segregated. Even though a majority of the abolitionists in the United States lived in the North, there were still segregation problems in the land above. “One of the southern governors has been quoted as saying that all he had to do to learn how to segregate the schools of his state successfully and legally, was to send his assistants to study New York City to learn how it is done there” (Dodson 106) The African Americans were forced into poor schools and received a poor education. “There have been problems growing out of the 2 to 3 year educational lag often noticed in the performance of Negro students by comparison with white students of the same age” (Virginius 377). While whites were allowed into well funded schools and received a generally higher education. One of the main reasons why people thought it was ridiculous for Beneatha to become a doctor was because of these segregated schools. “To go to Africa, Mama - be a doctor in Africa” (Hansberry 122). Since doctors were highly educated people, Beneatha was doubted and even shunned for her dreams. She however, was confident in herself and really symbolized the thought process of colored people in this time