Lorde's Narration: Significance of America's Holiday and Racism

This assignment examines the significance of Lorde's narration on American holidays and the pervasive issue of racism within society. The paper explores how Lorde's personal experiences, such as instances of discrimination when purchasing ice cream and being denied access to the capital, highlight the disparity between the ideals of freedom and the reality of racial inequality. The author argues that the true meaning of a holiday extends beyond leisure, advocating for the eradication of illogical practices that prevent citizens from enjoying their rights equally. The assignment references works by Franks and Lowe to provide context and support the central argument that institutional racism persists despite the claims of equal opportunity, emphasizing the need for societal reform and the ongoing struggle for civil rights in America.

Significance of lorde’s narration
America

Lorde’s narration
The narration of Lorde left over a very impactful significance on the minds of the people of
America because, through this she threw a light on the happenings around them in the society.
The thesis will argue that the general meaning of holiday is very different from the one which
people actually think which can be explained and proved further by giving the example of
Lorde’s experiences. Holiday doesn’t only means resting, but it is something which is related to
the betterment of people. Racism is the difference or the biasness done on the basis of color of
the skin i.e. white and black which is still existing, in the political sphere of the nation even after
years of becoming independent and the people whose rights were being violated could not raise
their voice against it or fight with it as somewhere or the other they knew or felt that the society
is not going to be reformed for anything (Franks). She proves her points by giving two examples
which she had faced along with her family and those were 1st while buying ice-cream from the
ice-cream parlor, and 2nd at the time when they wanted to go to the capital for the vacation, but
were not allowed due to their black skin color. Both the incidents took place on the fourth day of
July, which is considered as the day of prerogative, privilege and liberties for all the Americans
as they got their freedom on this day The glimpses of racism was been noticed there and bringing
any kind of revolution in the society and its politics was clearly seeming to be impossible
(Lowe). Therefore by this narration, she wants to deliver a message to all the people that the
actual meaning of holiday is really very different from what they understand it as, it is not just a
day to sit and rest or have fun but to remove all these kinds of illogical practices from the nation
so that all its citizens can enjoy their rights equally.

Works Cited
Franks, Travis. "Backlash: What Happens When We Talk Honestly about Racism in America, by
George Yancy." Journal of Black Studies and Research (2019): 74-77.
Lowe, Alexander. Pepresentations for Racism: Why the Persistence of Institutional Racism in
America Demands More Than Equal Opportunity For Black Citizens. 2016.