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.