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  • Essay / The Image of the African American in “Dear Martin” by Nic Stone

    “Dear Martin” is a first-person perspective on what it means to be a young African American in today's times. Specifically, Stone explores topics such as microaggression as we watch Justyce's classmates make racist jokes and accuse him of being "too sensitive"; white privilege, systemic racism, and white fragility, while racial profiling and the need for affirmative action are questioned by everyone. Stone wastes no time getting into the meat of “Dear Martin”; in the first chapter, Justyce is arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and readers quickly learn of the injustices of the law. He has a new outlook on the world around him and he begins to notice the way his classmates treat people of color. None of them are overtly racist, but it is clear that something systemic is at work and impacting their actions. While Stone creates a novel that encompasses the injustices of a young black man, this book also touches on current and relevant topics that reference several popular cases occurring recently in America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay I will argue that this book creates conversations that range from affirmative action to racial profiling and even what it means for People aren't able to "take a joke." Nic Stone creates a complex character to serve his intense dialogue, and Justyce McAllister plays a stunning young black man; he's at the top of his mostly white class and has recently accepted to Yale University All his life, he strove to defy the odds, ignoring his race and avoiding gang associations like those of his cousin and neighbors, focusing on his academic career. Justyce responds to a call at 3 a.m. that his ex-girlfriend Melo needs help. When he finds Melo, she is in a parking lot spewing hostility and extremely drunk through her mouth. hurtful insults, Justyce still finds her half-Norwegian, half-black beauty magnificent. He considers just calling her parents, but she is too vulnerable and unconscious, so he lifts her into the backseat and seconds later she is knocked to the ground by a police officer accusing him of hurting her. Justyce tries to explain the misunderstanding; but the officer punches him in the face and calls him a “son of.” Struggling to adapt to this new worldview that racism is still alive and well, Justyce begins writing letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These letters describe similarities. between the America of 2017 and the MLK era. Lyrical and poetic, Justyce begins a series with these letters trying to understand why equality doesn't seem to be a reality and how he can continue to move forward while living within a system that tries to push him back. Justyce is constrained by King's definition of integration, if true integration by King's definition is "intergroup and interpersonal life", why aren't there more people in his class who look like him ? Those letters started to help him put up with guys like Jared, who was in Justyce's debate class. From top to bottom, Jared was racist, hiding behind false equality in his pathetic arguments and complaints about reverse discrimination, claiming he only got into Yale because they had to "fill the quota." He tries to deal with the situations he faces with the same patience and.