Blog #5

Both "Monster" and "Incognegro" focused on the advantage of race and how it can affect the mindset of people.  In "Monster" the jury's ability to look past Steve's race is constantly in question and it is implied that they see him as just another black criminal.  "Incognegro" is interesting because it provides the view point of two men who get the perks of being white but are actually African American. 

In the book monster one quote stood out to me above all others, when Steve told his mom that "its not about race."  He said this to her after she asked him if she should have hired a black lawyer.  While reading this I felt happy about Steve acknowledging that he was in his predicament not because he was black, but because he was involved with a robbery/ homicide.  After reading the novel "Incognegro" I was exposed to the viewpoint of an African American who was pale and able to get the same perks as a white man.  After seeing the way that Carl was praised as a white man and then hung one discovered to secretly be black, I realized more than ever the perks that came along with being white during that time period.  The videos we watched of the kids destroying the car forced me to see that white advantage does still exist to an extent.  What surprised me the most was that some people laughed about the white kids destroying the car.  At the same time another person called the called the cops on black kids for sleeping in a car. This reminded me a bit of how Carl was loved by the southern people when they thought he was white, but hung after they discovered the truth.  Looking back on what Steve said to his mother about it not being about race; it seems that while his predicament was not because of his race, the way it was being handled may have had something to do with it.  Overall the two books and the video did a good job of creating awareness about racial advantage.