Race and Ethic Issues

Back in the time of slavery and segregation is where our ancestors grew. During slavery people of the opposite color had no unity. Men and women were not equal through for the women of the African American culture it was a lot harder. People of color were thought of as filthy, diseased, disgusting and inferior. Through the years it has taken strong idols to take a stand and help make changes to the racist society. Martin Luther King Jr. had a speech; Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and Harriet Tubman was responsible for the Underground Railroad so they have assist society to where it is today. Though today discrimination and racism still exist it is not as bad. I will analyze two piece of literary work that provides examples for what our ancestors felt in the past.

The Welcome Table written by Alice Walker and Country Lover's written by Nadine Gordimere provides different angles of racial acceptance and segregation by giving feelings along with meaning. The Welcome Table and Country Lover's open individual's heart and eyes to what many of our ancestors have experienced in the past. The Welcome Table by Alice Walker is a piece of literary work about an elderly African American woman whom the white community tended to look down on. "On her way to church she was stared at with disgust, with pity and with fear. Once inside the church, it was made clear she did not belong and was not welcomed there. Under the old woman's arms they raised their fists, flexed their muscular shoulders and out she flew through the door, back under the cold blue sky. (Clugston, 2010). After the elderly lady was thrown out of the church she saw that Jesus was approaching her and they later walked away together. The old woman walked until she walked herself to death and the elderly lady was never to be spoken of again. The concerns of how she died never came about because she was a ragged black woman who stepped in the race of the white community church where she was not welcomed.

Stories like "The Welcome Table" make people wonder how people made it through all that cruelty in the past. Through Alice Walker piece of work she revealed the thoughts of many towards the African Americans. Walker gave a vivid description of what the old woman looked like. "She was angular and lean and the color of poor gray Georgia earth, beaten by king cotton and the extreme weather. (Clugston, 2010). During slavery African Americans were known to work harder than any other on the farms, they were own by the whites who considered themselves farmers. After slavery was abolished the blacks were still employees of the white farmers. Walker made it understandable that though slavery was over hatred and segregation was still present to the African American culture. The white community still viewed African American as disgust, filthy provided no sympathy and showed disapproval even though the Blacks were raising white