Read this excerpt from The Land. When I was a little boy, being sent off to the kitchen to eat or outside to play didn’t bother
me, because Robert was always sent off with me. But then as we grew older, Robert was allowed to stay when the visitors came for their socializing, though at first he wouldn’t stay without me. Even his grandmother couldn’t make him stay. Robert’s grandma on his mama’s side always hated the fact that my daddy allowed Cassie and me to sit at his table and enjoy the life she felt was owed only to her daughter’s children. When the daughter died, her mother was there in my daddy’s house. Of course, I was only a baby at the time, but later I grew to know her hatred. She had stayed on in my daddy’s house and took over running it. I remember she was always hard on my mama, and on Cassie and me. When my daddy was away during mealtime, she would send Cassie and me from the table. When that happened, Robert always went with me, and she couldn’t make him come back. The minor theme in this excerpt is that racism is
This excerpt demonstrates the idea that racism is avoidable. In this passage, we learn that the narrator was discriminated against because of the color of his skin. However, we also learn that this was the case among adults, such as the grandma, but did not happen among children, as his friend Robert (presumably white) was kind and understanding. Although Robert could have learned to be like his grandma, he has instead become a kind and accepting person who dislikes racist ideas. This shows that racism is avoidable, regardless of your personal background.
