Class and the Politics of Writing

I agree with the author of this text because it is still the same in this century. She states that publishers did not publish her work because she was a black woman from the working class. She also states that because she wrote autobiographical works publishers did not consider her works and she had to publish her work from alternative publishers.

Much like this century, publishers are also doing the same thing. This time it's not just publishers it's also news stations and many stores. They're selling to a certain demographic, or advertising for a certain demographic. Fox News is not going to start praising Obama because they are targeting an older audience whose ideas differ from the youth of today. Instead of criticizing the publishers only I think the author should do the same to the public for racism and misogyny. The ultimate goal of a business is to sell to the public. If the public is not interested then the business has to change their product. The publishers that the author went to were big publishers that targeted the "white demographic." It's because the white population didn't want to read her book the publishers couldn't consider her work. She should have wagged her finger at the public for racism besides directing it towards the publishers only.

Another  point I'd like to discuss is when she writes,"...writers from poor and working class backgrounds must still count the emotional costs should they dare to reveal that which the world choose to leave unspoken." In anthropology, my professor gave a very interesting lecture about class and inequality and why it's so invisible in the United States. Publishers and directors portray the poor in a different way deceiving the public. I found it very interesting that this problem took place even back then. The public not only doesn't want to read an autobiography about a black woman, they also don't want to read a book about a poor woman.

The Emergence of Modern Colonialism in the Americas

In this chapter, the author focuses on interracial marriage back in colonial time and although she makes a compelling statement on why it occurred, I'd like to discuss interracial marriage in the twenty-first century. Kathy explains that white men chased black women causing black men to  chase Native Americans. In today's society this is also happening. The percentage of interracial U.S. marriages has gone up to 8.4 percent. Interracial marriages although are more common now are just as taboo as it was back then. In my neighborhood now, if an asian woman were to hold hands and be affectionate with someone of a different culture they would be the talk of the town and I would assume it was the same back then. It is a shock for us all to see people from different cultures coming together in an union and maybe that’s why so many adults are surprised to see it happen in the twenty-first century. I would admit that it shocks me too only because growing up in a community that was very homogenous, this addition of a new culture was an anomaly. However, I try my best to avoid thinking too much into it because what transpires among them is their business and to judge someone before knowing them is not the moral thing and I think it's something that has improved from the past where interracial couples were ostracized and outlawed.