Summary Of Clint Smith's Ted Talk

Clint Smith in his Ted Talk, How to raise a black son in American delivers a very persuasive and powerfully touching speech on the dynamics of race and his childhood instilled values. Smith shares the life lessons instilled in him by his father when he was young on the unsettling and unfair reality of being a young black American Kid and the sacrifices they have to make. To elaborate on the unfair and unsettling reality of a being a young black kid growing in America, Smith tells the story of his childhood when his father denied him to play the water guns game with his white friends and the fear his father displayed at that moment. In his talk, Smith addresses the fear of black parents and black children and the sacrifices they have to make that deny them of the innocence of black children. Smith balances out subtle gestures with is passionate voice combined with his interesting poetry style of speaking to captivate feelings and emotions of the audience as well as intensify the gravity of the issue.
Response to Summary …show more content…
“Why did I really have to mow the Lawn? … Why couldn’t I put jelly beans on my oatmeal?” (Smith, 2015). This moment encourages the audience to reflect on their personal interactions with their parents which then hooks them to the talk. The vital point from this was that we are all the same since we thought the same when we were kids. He balances out subtle gestures with is passionate voice combined with his interesting speaking style that attracts the audience and keeps them attentive and involved in the presentation. In the speech, the themes of poverty, humanity, injustice and the author’s struggles as a black kid in America are