The Black Girl Next Door Analysis

Segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. Throughout history in multi-racial communities segregation has always existed. It can be found anywhere from in school to in the work place. In Jennifer Baszile’s “The Black Girl Next Door” we witness the difficulties Jen and her family have integrating into the white upper class neighbourhood in the year of 1975. This is shown through Jen’s anger, betrayal and naivety, her mom’s teacher-like approach vs. her dad’s business man like approach as well as the social and religious symbols displayed throughout the story. Jen is angry about the situation, feels betrayed by her teacher and is naive throughout all of it. When her friend, Tammy loses the race she explains that …show more content…
Her mother, who is a teacher, teaches racism to her young students. She feels it is necessary to instruct the children on how to behave so they can make proper decisions as they grow up. Jen’s mother’s reaction and actions she takes to the segregation in her new neighbourhood is a exact depiction of what she teaches her students on a daily basis. Written on the poster she puts up in her community, “In Mom’s teacher-perfect penmanship she wrote “these are your neighbours”… she wanted the community to bear the shame she refused to feel” (23). Contrasting his wife, Jen’s father reacts in a completely different way. The self-made business man gets angry right away and stays that way throughout the story. He calls the authorities to help deal with the situation, “Dad had called the FBI field office after he’s called the newspaper” (22). The couple’s reactions differ but together they covered both sides of emotions and ways to attack the problem.  The burning cross and the sign Jen’s mom puts up symbolizes two other challenges the family faces while trying to integrate into the white upper class community. The burning cross symbolizes the defiance and hatred that the white people in their neighbourhood have towards the black family. They show their terror by burning crosses on black people’s lawns, “the sharp outlines of the profane symbol and the carefully controlled burn identified it as the handiwork of the same people who had attacked us” (25). In addition to this, Jen’s mom’s sign represents the resentment she feels by the neighbours for making their integration into the community more challenging. She felt it was necessary to turn the shame around to the attackers and ultimately, make them feel what she and her family had to endure. The burning cross and the sign are two objects that represent Jen’s family’s new life and the struggles and constant reminds of