Racism in Yoshiko Uchidas Desert Exile and Anne Moodys Coming of Age Essay

Racism in Yoshiko Uchidas Desert Exile and Anne Moodys Coming of Age in Mississippi - Essay Example In Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, the author presents experiences of racism as not limited to a white to black affair, but also a black-to-black affair. According to the author, whites discriminate blacks in Mississippi. To add salt to the injury, the author also points out that some blacks who are light skinned also look down upon fellow blacks that are not light skinned. Dark-skinned blacks suffer more compared to light-skinned blacks in a complex scenario of blacks discriminating against fellow blacks. For instance, Miss Pearl looks down upon Toosweet, as she is much darker than the Raymond’s family. Ann observes that â€Å"Miss Pearl and Raymond’s older sister would pass right by her without saying anything and Mama would be so hurt (Moody 49)†. Anne’s perception of the lighter skinned blacks also comes out that they see themselves as of a socially higher class than the rest of their fellow blacks. Legally, they enjoy to privileges that a re in any way different from the rest of the black community. That points out to some sort of disunity at that particular historical time. Some children innocently respond to racism with an attempt too physically examine the claimed superiority from white children with whom they play. Children are subjected to racial discrimination despite the fact that they do not know anything. The author mentions heard public arguments that blacks were inferior to whites genetically. Innocently, Anne had the white children remove their clothes so that she would examine them to confirm or disconfirm the claim (Moody 34). The incident demonstrates the racial institutionalization and indoctrinated into children’s minds. From a very young age, children are already growing up with negative connotations of race. Mrs. Burke comes out as an example of whites who discriminated against blacks including making false allegations against blacks. Anne responds by