Gregory Howard Williams Life on the Color Line Essay -- Williams Life

Gregory Howard Williams Life on the polish Line Life on the Color Line is a coercive tale of a young mans struggle to reach adulthood, written by Gregory Howard Williams - one that emphasizes, by daily grapples with personal turmoil, the absurdity of race as a social invention. Williams describes in heart wrenching detail the privations he and his brother endured when they were forced to remove themselves from a life of White license in Virginia to one where survival in Muncie, Indiana meant learning quick the cold hard facts of being Black in skin that appeared to be White. This powerful memoir is a testament to the potential love and close that can be exhibited despite being on the cusp of a nations racial conflicts and confusions, one that lifts a young person above devastating social limitations and turns oppression into opportunity. Williams is defiantly a man of two worlds. In one world he had promise and comfort, in the other he lived in deprivation and repression where one had to work in order to near survive. Williamss recollection of his ?life on the color line? is a alone(p) testimonial of the life of an individual who has walked in both the shoes of a White man and then those of a Black man. His story provides examples of current life experiences and events that can further the research of social psychologists by offer insight into the understanding of many social psychological theories and concepts, such as modern racial discrimination, in-group favoritism and confirmation bias just to name a few.From beginning to end the reader is bombarded with all kinds of racism and discrimination exposit in horrific detail by the author. His move from Virginia to Indiana loose a door to endless threats of violence and ridicule directed towards him because of his racial background. For example, Williams encountered a form of racism known as modern racism as a student at Garfield Elementary School. He was up to win an academic achievement prize, yet had no way of very winning the award because ?The prize did not go to Negroes. Just equal in Louisville, there were things and places for whites only? (Williams, 126). This form of prejudice is known as modern racism because the prejudice surfaces in a subtle, safe and socially acceptable way that is easy to rationalize. Another form of racism go through by the author is blatant racism whi... ...Williams had been White.Ingroup favoritism is the object to discriminate in support of an ingroup over members of the outgroup. The author go through ingroup favoritism when the coach of his basketball team decided to liquidate Williams from the varsity team in order to replace him with a white, B-team fraud who was not as well developed a basketball pseudo as Williams. some of the stereotypes we encounter and hold today were formed because of events in the past, which were formed to rationalize and justify past social and political agendas. Many of the stereotypes that we now hol d today were learned long ago and cod been passed from one generation to the next. This book has forever inspired me to believe in the value of each child and discourage racist attitudes wherever I encounter them. Gregory Howard Williams encountered many hurdles growing up and successfully disappointed them all. He could have easily confirmed the expectations of his negative peers and developed into a self-fulfilling prophecy, but instead he chose to shun his stereotypes and triumph over undreamed of odds. Works CitedWilliams, Gregory Howard. Life on the Color Line. New York Plume Book, 1995.