Racial segregation, disparity, and discrimination have been heated topics surrounding extensive dialogue for many years. Remarkably, the subject of equality in America is not new. And for a long time, many people, researchers. And policymakers have often attempted to resolve the menacing social problem. Aside from being a heated topic in the contemporary world. Race and racial relationships have been discussed at length in fictional plays, oral narratives, films, books, among other types of literature. “Fences,” by August Wilson, and “If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin are two pieces of literature in which the authors significantly accentuated the subject of racial relationships in varying degrees. From both works, black families are portrayed as vital and emotionally connected; however, each member struggles to support each other despite the racial oppression and injustice that they wholesomely face.
The play “Fences” showcases the lives of a black family. Portraying the commonplace economic standards, access to opportunities and resources, job discrimination, and prejudice that black people continue to face. The play is set back in the late 1950s and begins to explore Troy’s life, family, and predicaments. In the first scene of the second act, Troy begins to erect a fence around his home. It represents both the symbolic act of isolation and the broader emotional desire to construct a fortress in which a black family may separate itself from the white-dominated world (Wilson). From one perspective, the wall represents the geographic consequences of stratification in a broad sense. This further illuminates the exclusion of African Americans from several parts of town and the establishment of racial homogeneity in such areas. His wife wants the fence to separate her and her family from the outer world and preserve their African American heritage and family ties from the world attempting to intrude.
Similarly, from Baldwin’s book, it is clear that family serves as a stronghold among the black community. Although the facts of her lover’s unjust incarceration are disheartening. Tish retains a feeling of optimism due to the support of her family members. As a result, she visits Fonny, her betrothed, and provides him with the same support. Fonny’s capacity to exemplify resilience despite the mentally demanding circumstances of jail is significantly impacted by Tish’s choice to leave her work to see him every day, as advised by her mother, who encourages her (Baldwin 54). Although his situation is deteriorating, these visits provide him with much-needed sustenance, repeatedly telling him that Tish and her love, in additament to their unborn baby, provide him with reasons to persevere despite the oppression and racial prejudice that brought him to prison. Tish represents a certain amount of hope, which she subsequently passes on to Fonny, encouraging him to trust that they would be able to get through this difficult period together.
Additionally, the two literature pieces also showcase that though black families face externalities such as oppression and injustice, they also have to deal with internal conflicts. In the play, the family is divided by the adverse effects of racism, as evidenced by Troy and Cory’s relationship. Though the two do not get along easily, they are still held together by their bonds. Tory had difficulty getting his current job as a black garbage truck driver, the first of his kind (Wilson 2). As such, he was forced to believe that the system was rigged and structured to oppress black people disproportionately. He tries to protect his family by hiding them away, evidenced by the fence and when he refuses to permit his son to venture into football.
Baldwin’s book also showcases the extensive barriers within black families, mainly focusing on the lack of support between family members. Fonny’s mother exemplifies the dangers and duplicity of a faith bereft of empathy, particularly when she learns of Tish’s pregnancy. Instead of supporting her son and his fiance, she reacts with a sense of piety, declaring that Tish’s unborn child would die before delivery, scolding Tish and her son for engaging in premarital sex (Baldwin 35). Although the two are deeply committed to one another, Mrs. Hunt believes that Tish damages her son’s life. Ideally, she also portrays some support to Fonny as he asserts that since she prays for him, he would be pardoned. Even though Mrs. Hunt seemingly expresses her affection for her son in this manner, she later assesses Fonny as an unreformed and despicable individual.
Ideally, the two pieces of literature showcase the experiences of black families who struggle to maintain a cohesive internal environment while also fighting away the racial prejudice, segregation, and oppression that is working against them. Each family seems to be connected and emotionally intense, but several weaknesses come to life when external forces interfere with their lives. From the two works, the critical missing factor among racial relationships is the lack of support. In other words, though black families are expected to stand together against the white oppressors, the stories show that this is not the case in many families.
