BEYOND THE COMMONS
CONTENTS
Art
Art Collection
Black History Month Creative Writing
Creative Writing Collection
Diane Nash: An Unsung Hero of the Civil Rights Movement Interracial Relationships Lack of Diversity in Beauty Music
DJ NB Interview Finding Love in Music After Your Favorite Artist Passes Away
Photography
Photograpy Collection
Vietnamese Pride for the Lunar New Year 02
MEET THE TEAM
Editor in Chief: Sarah Harwell Art Editor: Krista Nguyen Art Co-editor: Mely Mendez Creative Writing Editor: Hannah Kozak Culture Editor: Destiny Hodges Music Editor: Gwen Gephart Politics Editor: Laura Nguyen Photography Editor: Ava Pucilowski Social Issues Editor: Salem Suleiman
ART
ART 04
ANASTASIA EVANS
DICKRI FAUZY
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KATHERINE SANTOS
By: Katherine Santos
BLACK HISTORY MONTH Destiny Hodges Founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and originating as “Negro History Week”, Black history month has undoubtedly been a controversial and sensitive topic since its official conception in 1976. It is a month dedicated to commemorating the achievements and central roles of African Americans in U.S. history. But the lasting arguments remain: Why devote an entire month to one people group? Why only celebrate for a month, when it should be recognized throughout the entire year? Does America still need the annual reminder of its importance? Taking a look at today's society, the mention of black people is unfortunately often clouded with negative perceptions, stereotypes and stigmas. When Woodson created “Negro History Week”, his objective was to bring national attention to the contributions of black people throughout American history, and change the worlds distorted perception of blacks. It’s quite unsettling how frequently the worst views of black people is displayed, whether that be statistics surrounding poverty, incarceration, and high school incompletion; or “success” in reality tv covered in stereotypes of aggressively angry African Americans.By formally recognizing African Americans who transformed society, misrepresentations and preconceived notions can be put to rest and rebirthed with a better knowledge of black culture. Why might we still need this? Although we celebrate black history month for many other reasons such as for reserving a time to thank those who paved the way for civil rights, and to appreciate how far we as a people have come, that is not the leading reason why I believe this month should remain. America has come a long way, but there is still a way to go. Woodson’s hope was to change our narrative, and we should keep aiming to do so until we are heard full on. As of today, we still have abiding institutionalized racism, a president that openly disrespects our people, filmed incidents of disturbing and inhumane racist encounters, a state governor in a yearbook photograph dressed in either blackface or kkk attire that wishes to remain governor, and a considerable population of African Americans that don’t know so much of their own history, because they don’t teach that kind of curriculum in schools. We should continue to celebrate black history month, because America isn’t done listening. That isn’t to say we shouldn’t recognize Black history the other 11 months of the year, it just means that a job of such great responsibly and significance as this one requires the extra attention.
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CREATIVE WRITING
CREATIVE WRITING
Nina McKee
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Jordan Weiner
Jordan Weiner
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DIANE NASH: AN UNSUNG HERO OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS Madison Stanley Charlottesville, white nationalists, confederate flags, and hatred. These are simply some issues that manage to persist in United States politics. They can be seen in everyday life in everything from racist uncles to institutionalized poverty and police brutality. Some people find themselves aghast at the suggestion that things in this country are not equal, that the problem has not been fixed. Yet African Americans in the United States have the highest poverty rate of any group, at an approximate 27.4 percent while in comparison whites have a measly poverty rate of 9.9 percent. Poverty in anyone is, of course, an issue, one that the United States struggles with, with approximately 15 percent of the population under the poverty line. The argument here is that there’s an institutional issue, where minorities consistently have higher poverty rates, have poorer education, and fewer opportunities. During black history month, most people recognize the major leaders of the civil rights movement, like Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and even Justice Thurgood Marshall. Yet, as this month goes on, it is important to remind each other of the persistent issues in society, to keep the conversation and understanding going. It is the lesser known heroes that should be talked about. Diane Nash is an American civil rights activist who participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Nash, born May 15, 1938, grew up in a middle-class Catholic area of Chicago, Illinois. The beginning of her life was sheltered, she attended Catholic school and did not discuss the subject of race often. Nash would later be exposed to the realities of racism when she transferred to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee where she was disgusted and outraged by her first encounter with segregation: a bathroom for “Colored Women” at the Tennessee State Fair. This event sparked Nash’s passion for equality, she soon attended nonviolent civil disobedience workshops and became a leader for student protests. Nash would go on to co-found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), be a freedom rides coordinator, a voting rights organizer, a fair housing and nonviolence advocate, and a winner of the Southern Christian Leadership Conferences’ Rosa Parks Award. Nash’s story has something to teach everyone, that no matter what background you come from and no matter how equal the world may seem on the surface, there is always some aspect or place to make improvements. This time in history may seem divisive and politics is extremely polarized, but it is important to remember where this all started and where the world is heading.
INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS Sarah Harwell
In 1958, a couple quietly sleeps in their bed. Three police officers burst into their home, incriminating the two - the crime being loving one another. Married while one was white, and the other black. The two sat in jail for several days, for avoiding Virginia’s strict laws that prohibited interracial marriage, and married in Washington D.C. During their trial, in Virginia, they were found guilty, the judge remarking to the wife that “as long as you live you will be known as a felon”. To me, I know her as my saving grace for society. Five years later, they approach the American Civil Liberties Union to fight their case - four years after approaching the Union, the Supreme Court finally rules the prohibition of interracial marriages as unconstitutional. After nine long years, the couple gets to love freely. This couple, Mildred and Richard Loving, are revolutionary. There are parts of my life that I take for granted - small things like holding my boyfriend’s hand in public without a glare, or being able to love someone without worrying if I’ll one day be in jail. Loving whoever I want without repercussions or consequences. Love wholly and fully without unnecessary secondary doubts or wondering if loving someone is “right” because of racist laws. Everyday I’m thankful for my significant other, everyday I’m thankful I have someone who I love - but everyday I should also be thankful for those who allowed me to do so. For the individuals who fought for love, for equality, and for my own tried and true chance at happiness. Having a love that is strong enough to endure nine long years of enduring wrong treatment and bigotry is riveting.
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LACK OF DIVERSITY IN BEAUTY Carolyn Tachoir
By the time a young girl turns nine or ten, the concept of makeup, style and the concept of beauty has already been introduced. From there, the presence of cosmetics in daily life only grows with frequent trips to Ulta or Sephora or the local drugstore becoming the norm. Some girls grow learning to chase the latest trends, constantly grasping whatever it takes to give them a sense of feeling pretty and ready to take on the day. The unfortunate truth in all of this is that the industry, whose whole purpose is to allow women to feel beautiful in their own skin, is incredibly selective on what skin they feel women should actually feel comfortable in. To try and understand this problem, we can begin by starting at the top and working our way down. A woman’s face is typically the first area that receives attention in any morning routine, from face wash to foundation. Some might find that routine more difficult than others considering the limited pallet of colors produced within the beauty industry. While shelves may be lined with anything from eggshell to ivory, the darker options, in the best case scenario, are incredibly expensive or difficult to find (worse case scenario, they are nonexistent.) According to The Pudding, who put a number of foundations to the test, the data shows that many of the bestselling brands and their products, including Maybelline’s Fit Me, bareMinerals’ barePRO, and Revlon’s ColorStay, cater most to those in the 60-90 color range. That range meaning the light to tan skin tones are the ones getting the ample attention but greatly lacking as the shades become darker. As I looked into Tarte
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LACK OF DIVERSITY IN BEAUTY Cosmetics website at their bestselling Shape Tape matte foundation, they boasted 25 shades. Upon a closer look, however, most shades catered, again, to the light to tan skin tones. In fact, only one shade out of the 25 was described on the website as meant for “very deep skin”. There have been steps forward, in 2017, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty and their liquid foundation product, Pro Filt’r. The product quickly gained massive praise, even becoming on of Time’s 25 Best Inventions of 2017. With 40 shades, Fenty strives to close the “void” in the beauty community and focuses “on a wide range of traditionally hard-to-match skin tones, creating formulas that work for all skin types, and pinpointing universal shades.” While a great advancement, there is still more work to be done as The Pudding found that not even Fenty Beauty supported the 10-20 lightness shade, otherwise known as the darkest skin tone range. Fenty, while undoubtedly a leader, is not alone in promoting inclusion, in May 2017 (a few months prior to Fenty’s release) Maybelline’s Fit Me introduced the addition of 16 shades that catered to the darker skin tones. Hopefully, the beauty industry is taking notes to continue on taking steps forward in allowing everyone, regardless of how light or dark they may be, to feel like the best version of themselves. Moving a little farther down, another issue the beauty/fashion industry faces is the promotion of all body types. The average American woman is a size 16, however according to Cosmopolitan, “in the fashion industry, “plus size” is a term for models who are size 8 and up.” The women who are representing those in the plus sized industry are also shrinking in size, most models used to average between size 10-12. This poses the
question, “if this is what we’re showing as “plus size” what unhealthy images are festering inside young girl’s minds?” In a study done by the CDC, “the average American woman is a size 14, and yet the dominant sizes in the industry are 0, 2, and 4.” It can be frustrating enough to shop in any size, shopping for plus size clothing can be a nightmare. Not only do the sizes in store rarely exceed an XL or a XXL, but some stores are downright degrading. Back in 2013, the infamous comments resurfaced made by the then CEO of Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries including , “We go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive allAmerican kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.” and “We hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.” Luckily, Jeffries had a rather sudden retirement from his position in 2014 but stores alienating valuable customers based on size alone is disgusting. Victoria’s Secret brand choses to stay away from inclusive sizing all together. Chief marketing officer of creative services at Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, Limited Brands, Ed Razek, told Vogue, “We market to who we sell to, and we don’t market to the whole world.” There has been countless amounts of annoyance in the past but the fashion community is making the effort to expand. Online clothing services have become a source of clothing in ample shapes for every body type. Even Target is expanding their plus size selections. According to Biz Journal Target doubled the offer of plus size clothing in around 300 stores by the end of 2018, up from only 150 stores previously. Plus Size and body positivity needs, ultimately, to step beyond an emotional business gimmick and become a true way of thinking. At the end of the day, there should be no concept of plus sizes, there should just be sizes meant for the general public from the tiniest to the curviest and everything in between. Not only would it eliminate shopping stress everywhere, it’s not healthy for anyone to hate themselves for simply attempting to find a cute outfit, or being smacked in the face with gorgeously photoshopped models with unrealistic body images the second they arrive in store. At the end of the day, the world is made up of various shapes, sizes, colors, tones, and every beautiful thing in the gaps. There is no picking and choosing what defines beauty; that’s simply not how this works. For an industry that is meant to help people feel beautiful, there’s a whole lot of catch-up that needs to be done.
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MUSIC
DJ NB
DJ NB Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. Well I am DJ NB (Disc Jockey Nolan Baldwin), I hail from North Highlands, a little suburb of Northern Sacramento. I've been playing drums since I was 9, producing since I was 14, DJing since I was 15, and playing bass since I was 16. I've released 3 Drum & Bass albums (my fourth one will be coming this summer), a handful of beat tapes, and a few handfuls of DJ mixtapes. Who is your biggest inspiration? I take inspiration from all types of musicians, but here's a few specific artists that have especially inspired my works: Kanye West, DJ Screw, DJ Shadow, Freezepop, Beck, Omni Trio, Gorillaz, M.I.A., Quasimoto, El-P, Prefuse 73, and so much more. The list truly never ends. What is your music influenced by? Most of my music is inspired by mid-90s Drum & Bass, from labels like Metalheadz and Moving Shadow. But also by the slowed down dirty south stylings of DJ Screw, and the dreary sample-based works of Davis-musician DJ Shadow. Non-music wise, my music is heavily inspired by nature and just day-to-day living in Sacramento. I also take heavy inspiration from the Romantic Period in art. The works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, and John Keats are some of my favorites. What is the best and worst part of being a musician? The best part is definitely when everything works naturally: you find that one sample that just speaks to you like nothing else you've heard in a while, that one snare drum just hits perfect, things of that sort. On the flipside, the worst part is when nothing works. No matter what you do: you start a new song, revisit an old one, build off a sample, you just can't make what you want. It can be truly infuriating sometimes, but it's worth it when you can make something you love.
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If you could go to any concert, be the musician living or dead, who would it be and why? Absolutely I would see Eric Burdon & the Animals in their prime (late 60s/early 70s). I truly believe Eric Burdon is one of the most underrated musicians of his time. Everyone talks about Zepp, the Beatles, but what about Burdon & the Animals? Not only did they have incredible Pop tunes, but their hippie shit holds up just as much as the other classic records of it's time. What is your main goal for listeners? In terms what I want for my listeners, I just want to scare them. I want them to hear some shit they've never thought they could hear. I want them to hear some music that is truly beautiful, music that will give them goosebumps everytime they hear it. Do you have any future projects coming up that we can look forward to? Quite a bit, actually. As I mentioned earlier, my fourth Drum & Bass album "The Colors of the Spirit" will be coming out sometime this summer. It's a much more natural sounding approach to Drum & Bass with a nature-y vibe throughout. I also have two beat tapes coming this summer, one being the third part in my "Mixtapes For Free, Homie Here Take One" series and one being "Exceptional Supplements & Flavorings", a "Special Herbs & Spices"-esque beat tape dedicated to some of my favorite supplements. I also have two electronic mixtapes "88.7 Megahertz: Songs From the Sleepy Time Radio" and "88.7 Megahertz: Pure Energy Lifeform" hopefully coming this winter. And then about a dozen random ideas for albums that may or may not become a reality. Who knows honestly, I do way too much music.
DJ NB
FINDING LOVE IN MUSIC AFTER YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST PASSES AWAY Jamie Batres I didn’t think my relationship with music was as intimate as it was until my best friend texted me that our favorite artist had just died. I remember being in denial, opening packages that were lying around, cleaning my room, finding distraction in anything nearby that could take my mind away from the news. I won’t go into detail of what happened to him since I find no use in that. But I will tell you that after I cleaned every possible corner in my room, I fell into tears. I was the only one home and I had just gotten back from a long flight, so I started unpacking with tears running down my cheeks and his discography blasting in the background. I’m lucky in the sense that I’ve never had a relative or anyone I love pass away, but it was because of this that I didn’t know if any of my emotions were justified. And they were– I just didn’t know that yet. The thing about losing your favorite artist is that you tell yourself you didn’t know them enough to be feeling this way in the first place. This wasn’t a friend you could call up in the middle of the night. You didn’t have their number. You only knew their favorite color because they had mentioned it in an interview. You didn’t know them. But in a way, I did. I listened to his songs whenever I needed to drown out my parents arguing too loud. I watched his interviews where he talked about drug abuse when I saw one of my friends taking one too many pills. Although he wasn’t someone I could talk to about how his day was, he was there when I felt no one else could be. I’ve had in-person relationships far less intimate than the one I had with my favorite artist. After he passed away I stopped listening to music altogether, including his own. It’s not that I wanted to, I just couldn’t hear a verse without having to hold myself back from sobbing in public. How do you explain to someone that you’re crying because your favorite artist died without sounding like an idiot? You don’t, so I avoided listening to him altogether. But it was then that something weird happened. I didn’t want to listen to music anymore. For someone who usually holds aux cord responsibility, this tore me apart in ways I wasn’t ready for. Of course, I liked other artists and other songs, but nothing sounded… good. Apart from losing one of my favorite people, I lost the desire to listen to music along with him. I wasn’t interested in listening to Apple’s New Music Mix every Friday, nor could I be bothered to listen to recently released albums. I went from finding solace in melodies to hoping friends wouldn’t ask me for music recommendations. I had forgotten what it was like to feel like a song was written for you.
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It took me awhile. A few weeks after he passed away I started listening to Miley Cyrus again, a singer I grew up watching/listening to, so I was able to let my guard down listening to Younger Now. A few months later I incorporated The Neighbourhood by playing Void on loop whenever I was on the brink of an anxiety attack. Then, I listened to Blood Orange; Dev Hynes will always have a place in my heart, as will Freetown Sound and Cupid Deluxe. Although I was far from ready to start listening to my favorite artist, I was happy knowing music was starting to have a positive connotation again. The thing about listening to new music after your favorite artist passes away is that your relationship with music changes, or at least mine did. I’m finally at a place where I allow all different sorts of music to enter my life; I have many people to thank for that including my favorite artist. On another note, I’d like to believe I already knew this before, but I’m not too sure about that. Now, I understand what it means to love someone without knowing them personally. I only really knew my artist through what he chose to share, but I believe that sharing your art with the world is one of the most personal things one can do. So even though I didn’t know him in the traditional sense, I know in my heart that he would have wanted me to continue finding love in music the same way he used to. And to my favorite artist: Thank you for teaching me about the magic in music early on enough to find artists like Miley, The Neighbourhood and Dev Hynes who make it easier to deal with knowing you won’t be able to release new music anymore. Clarity, ROS, Another Night and Missed Calls still sound just as good as the first time I listened to them. Love you forever. Thank you.
FINDING LOVE IN MUSIC AFTER YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST PASSES AWAY
PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTOGRAPHY 24
Madison Becerra
Logan Bik
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Laurel McBeath
Katherine Santos
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Vietnamese New Year Nina Huynh
@yourgirlneens Why are you proud to be Vietnamese? Our people are strong, nurturing, innovative and hard working. My parents are my role models and every day I see them embodying what it means to be a proud Vietnamese person. What was a struggle that you went through as a Vietnamese woman that made you grow stronger? Growing up a Vietnamese woman, there are boxes that people try to mold you into. Whether the pressure comes from family, our culture or our surroundings, I had to learn over the years that my relationship to my womanhood and my culture is nobody’s business but mine. I will not allow myself or anyone else to confine myself to the limits of what a Vietnamese woman should or should not be. How important is incorporating your heritage and culture into your life? It is super important! You have to know where you came from to know where you are going. I feel like because we are so overstimulated nowadays, it’s important to ground ourselves in community, heritage and culture. Is there any part of being Vietnamese that took you some time to grow to love, being a Vietnamese-American? Of course. Growing up Vietnamese-American, you are seen as a perpetual outsider, like many other people of color living in the states. There was a period of time when I was much younger that I truly wished I was white because then people would stop making assumptions about me that limited who I wanted to be and how I wanted to express myself. But I learned pretty quickly after that that there is a lot to be proud of, and a much more to be grateful for. Fast forward to today and I would never trade my appearance, my culture, my family or my rich heritage for anything else.
Vietnamese New Year Sarah Tran
@ssarahnade Why are you proud to be Vietnamese? Although I can’t cook it, I’m proud to say that Vietnamese cuisine is truly a work of art and that I am blessed to be surrounded with authentic Viet food for the past 19 years of my life. Pho is the infamous noodle soup that everybody knows and love, however it goes way beyond that. I’m very fortunate to grow up in a Vietnamese household and experience waking up on a cold NJ winter day to the smell of pho and the scallions and cilantro that garnish it. Being able to go from feeling cold and tired to warm and lively just from one spoonful of soup and noodles. Vietnamese cuisine is a work of art that can always and instantly transform my mood. I know that sounds so dramatic, but now that I’m in college and I dorm, I realized how much I took it for granted when I was back home. I just need my mom to teach me how to craft these dishes so I can hopefully bless my future kids with the same experience. Besides food, I’m extremely proud of the resilient characteristic that I’ve noticed from my people. My dad came to America on his own and brought my mom over after a couple of years. While understanding and speaking little to no English, they somehow managed to open their own nail salon and get our family to where we are today. They put me through school and now I’m in college. I am grateful for having these ultimate role models that are my parents. But I know for a fact their story isn’t special. I’ve met so many Viet kids with the same story as mine. How did they go from leaving their life and everything they have to move to an entire different country? And do well? What are some Vietnamese traditions that you find yourself carrying on in the future? Growing up in a Vietnamese household, I know for sure I’m carrying on the tradition of celebrating Tet(which is Vietnamese New Year). In my family, the most important holiday of the entire year is Tet. If you asked me why I liked Tet a few years ago, I’d probably say it’s because I get these little red envelopes with money in them. If you ask me now, I’d say because it brings my family together. When I was in highschool, I really took my family for granted and never wanted to spend time with them. But now that I’m living away from them, I began appreciating my family and the time I spend with them a lot more. So in the future, I want a time that brings my family together the same way Tet does for mine. 30
Vietnamese New Year What are struggles that you went through as a Vietnamese-American woman? It was my first overtly racist encounter so I thought it was pretty crazy. I went to my friend’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving because my family doesn’t celebrate it. Mainly because all of my relatives and grandparents are either in a different state or a different country. So I came over and met his grandfather. His grandfather asked me if I was Korean and I said no I’m Vietnamese. He then gave my friend a look and started saying how he served in the Vietnam war. At that point I kind of already knew where this was going. He started off telling my friend and I stories about how Americans would vaccinate the Vietnamese kids in the children’s hospital, but how the Vietcong came and amputated whichever arm they got the shot in. He said, “It’s crazy how these people have no value for human life.” I didn’t know how to respond. “These people” being Vietnamese people. I didn’t know how to react. He didn't give me time to react before he started telling us more stories about what he did while he was in Vietnam. He started mocking my people’s language and our accents. He started speaking his version of “Vietnamese.” Which was just a string of unintelligible sounds I was looking at my friend and waiting for him to say something, to tell his grandpa to stop talking or something. Mostly because I was too upset to say anything, and that it was his grandpa. I felt like I couldn't curse him out because it would ruin their Thanksgiving. It hurt hearing someone say those things to your face about your people. But it hurt more when my friend was completely oblivious to the fact that the entire conversation was making me feel uncomfortable. My friend said, “How was I supposed to know you felt uncomfortable?” We’re not friends anymore. How did the culture difference affect you in the place you grew up and the way you were raised at home (i.e. American cultural differences in school and coming home to completely different culture/way of life)? There are two ways that I can think of off the top of my head where the culture difference played a role in my upbringing. I was fortunate to live in a very diverse town. However, for whatever reason, I wanted to be white when I was in middle school. I’m not proud of it, but I can confidently say that I grew from this experience and it made me who I am today. But anyway, I was in 6th grade when I started looking up ways to lighten my skin and wanting Elle Fanning’s lips because she was in a movie I liked. I came across a wikihow page telling me to use a mixture of lemon and water. I went into my freshman year of highschool being so pale that people thought I was white and Vietnamese. I’m not sure when the switch in mindset happened, but I remember going to Cancun and having field hockey practice over the summer before sophomore year. I got extremely tan, and I loved it. I believe that being on social media and seeing other people of my race and ethnicity accept themselves, helped me begin accepting myself too. That’s when I understood that representation matters.
WHITE PERSPECTIVE Hannah Kozak I was born and currently reside in a predominantly white, upper-middle class community. In my high school of roughly 3,200 students, maybe 50-70 students are people of color. That rounds out to be not much more than two percent of the student body at most. While my school offers various advanced classes and an overall decent education, there are a few things most of the student body will never learn from a textbook. We will never fully wrap our minds around the oppression that our non-white counterparts experience. We may learn about it, but we will never experience it and understand it to its full extent. Because of this, it is very important that we listen to people of color share their stories and experiences through all types of art forms. Some of my favorite Black writers are Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, and Zora Neale Hurston. Each writer conveys the struggles of Black people in different ways and touches on various topics around racism and achieving equality. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography of Angelou’s life from childhood to early adulthood. At a young age, Angelou is exposed to segregation and racism so extreme she doesn't even know white people are real. Once she does realize white people are real, she gets upset at times for not having lighter features. Angelou eventually fights racism by becoming the first Black streetcar conductor in San Francisco at just the age of 16. Angelou also has many poems about overcoming prejudice and obtaining equality in her community. In Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, both Morrison and Ellison have a lighter-skinned protagonist to comment on how these people are treated better by the white community. Both novels also juxtapose the difference between individuals in the Black community from the North and the South in the 1930s-1940s. Ellison specifically uses so many different motifs and symbols throughout his novel to show the power struggles between white people and Black people as well as Black-on-Black power struggles. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God does not have the focal point of racial injustice. The novel follows Janie Starks and her struggle to find herself as well as stay rooted in what she believes is right. Her hair is often used as a symbol of her sexuality and strong-willed nature; she carries some white features that are worshipped by others and masculine energy that throws off most of her partners. Although racism is not the focus of this work, it makes it much more meaningful when it is referenced because it shows it is a daily, normal thing for this community. Without the Black point of view and story, I would never come close to understanding what people of color go through and have gone through for decades upon decades. It is so important that non-Black people listen to the Black community’s experiences, that non-Asian people listen to the Asian community’s experiences, that non-Hispanic people listen to the Hispanic community’s experiences, etc. If we don’t, we will never understand one another. As a white person, I will never fully be able to grasp the true pain that any of those communities feel. With writing, I feel like I can have insight to just a piece of this pain and realize my own privilege in day-to-day life.
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Thank you for reading!
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