In "I'm Black, You're White, Who's Innocent?", Shelby Steele discusses the struggle that remains in America with regard to race. Throughout his writing, it felt like a constant power struggle and was somewhat difficult for me to digest.
Growing up in Utah, I did not have very many occasions where I interacted with black Americans. I guess I can't relate with this struggle for innocence and guilt that Steele claims is in every interaction between the races. I can appreciate the feelings that were present in the opening scene, and felt like he really pulled the reader into his story--I was uncomfortable just reading about this party, let alone actually being there.
I can appreciate his thought process and the critical thinking that he went through to form his conclusions. I did agree with his assessment that we are ultimately responsible for our own actions, and we shouldn't blame others for our failures. It was astounding to read that "70 percent of black students at [his] university drop out before graduation" (539). I wonder what the statistic is for the white dropout rate, and if it is significantly lower, or if it is high as well. At any rate, it seems likely that these students are, for some reason, afraid of succeeding. While I don't feel like I have enough knowledge on this subject to form a strong opinion, at least his writing brought up new points that I can contemplate. Maybe this essay will spark our ability as a multi-cultural nation to talk more openly about racial differences.
Growing up in Utah, I did not have very many occasions where I interacted with black Americans. I guess I can't relate with this struggle for innocence and guilt that Steele claims is in every interaction between the races. I can appreciate the feelings that were present in the opening scene, and felt like he really pulled the reader into his story--I was uncomfortable just reading about this party, let alone actually being there.
I can appreciate his thought process and the critical thinking that he went through to form his conclusions. I did agree with his assessment that we are ultimately responsible for our own actions, and we shouldn't blame others for our failures. It was astounding to read that "70 percent of black students at [his] university drop out before graduation" (539). I wonder what the statistic is for the white dropout rate, and if it is significantly lower, or if it is high as well. At any rate, it seems likely that these students are, for some reason, afraid of succeeding. While I don't feel like I have enough knowledge on this subject to form a strong opinion, at least his writing brought up new points that I can contemplate. Maybe this essay will spark our ability as a multi-cultural nation to talk more openly about racial differences.
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