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Brainstorm your Expository Essay 

Essay Prompt: Baldwin_Davis Letter Prompt copy 3.doc

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Expository Essay: Link (Links to an external site.)

The first two paragraphs of the essay are straight rhetorical analysis like we did with Dr. King and “The Perils of Indifference”.  The second two paragraphs are your opinions (using the outside sources) to enter into the conversation with the author.  Agree/Disagree/why 

Begin to decide which claims to plan to explore in your essay one and why.  This can be informal!

You can scribble it out (screenshot and upload) or do create a word doc.   Choose for sure which letter you will write about and at least four main points the author makes that you agree or disagree with and would like to write about. 

Myasar

Discussion Post

I choose “An Open Letter to My Sister, Angela Y. Davis” by James Baldwin.

First, I agree with Baldwin that the kinds of leaders Americans choose usually determine the country’s future regarding racism and prejudice. Even though I will avoid specific names, it has been evident that some leaders do little to implement zero-tolerant policies against racism.

Second, I also agree that racism is deeply rooted in American society, such that it has been normalized. Baldwin gives an example of how media agencies such as Newsweek pretend to sympathize with racism victims while glorifying modern slavery in disguise.

Third, Baldwin is right that whites and Blacks are to blame for not eliminating racism. He argues that most Americans know that society is unfair, but they “do not dare admit this.” The American society is living in a denial that pretends to fight racism using subtle mechanisms that only worsen the situation.

However, I’m afraid I disagree that Blacks are delusional that whites are all their brothers. Baldwin argues that most blacks have been forced to think that the world is fair where people should see themselves as brothers and sisters. Blacks know how to differentiate between people who support their course and those who suppress it.