Student Question
In Brown Girl Dreaming, where does Jacqueline first notice change in her life and her world?
Quick answer:
Right away in Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson sees change happening in her life. She says she was born as "the South explode[d]." She contextualizes her birth within the upheavals in the United States. She tells about James Baldwin, John F. Kennedy, and other figures typically portrayed as transformational. Yet as we read on, we notice that things aren't so changed. Woodson and her family still sit in the back of the bus and fear being beaten by police.
Jacqueline Woodson seems to be aware of change right from the start. Yes, it's Woodson looking back. But in her recollection, Woodson draws our attention to how she was born during a time of immense change and upheaval. "I am born as the South explodes," Woodson tells us.
Right away, Woodson contextualizes her birth. Her birth coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. planning a march on Washington. It coincides with Malcolm X's revolutionary rhetoric and John F. Kennedy's hope-inducing presidency.
Yet we soon notice a contrast between the change Woodson tells us about and the real world that Woodson and her family navigate. Early on, Woodson tells us about Rosa Parks. Even though Woodson and her family are allowed to sit wherever they want in the bus, they don't. They sit in the back. "Too dangerous to sit closer to the front," says Woodson.
Again, though the law about Black...
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people sitting in the back of the bus has changed in real life, it seems like Black people still have to sit in the back of the bus. Again, though change is supposed to be happening all around Woodson and her family, they still have to worry about getting "stopped," "beaten," or "questioned."
Another incident that reveals a lack of change is when Roman gets lead poisoning after eating the paint off the walls in their New York City apartment. You might want to connect that to what's going on now. In 2018, over 11,000 children living in New York City's public housing tested positive for lead exposure. Do you think race factors into who is and who isn't exposed to lead?
Back to Woodson's memoir. If you wanted to talk about change in a different way, you could talk about how her home is in constant flux. She goes from Ohio to South Carolina to New York City. You could also talk about how her relationship to her grandma and grandpa help make that change less disruptive.
More so, you could talk about how Angela Davis helps acquaint Woodson with the world around her. It's interesting that Woodson first sees Davis on TV. How does the medium impact Woodson's understanding of Davis and the Black Panthers? Is she deeply familiar with their ideas and beliefs, or does she think Davis specifically is stylish and cool? How does Woodson's view of Davis link to views of activism/celebrity today? Do we sometimes blur the line between activism and celebrity?
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