11/18 Reading Response
After watching the Netflix documentary I Am Not Your Negro (2017) directed by Raol Peck, the concept of hope was one theme, among others, that stood out to me ( once again ). Through this lens of hope, I found myself connecting this source to the video lecture by Dr. Tricia Rose, “ How Structural Racism Works ”. For me, this connection is most salient in both the beginning and ending of the documentary. To start, the documentary begins with a clip from 1968 from the Dick Cavett Show. During this clip, the host asks James Baldwin a series of questions, such as “why aren’t [black people] optimistic?” and “is it at once getting much better and still hopeless [for black people]?” The second question, paired with Baldwin’s initial response (i.e. “I don’t think there is much hope for it”, the “it” I believe referring to black people’s sense of optimism), mirrors Dr. Rose’s response at the end of her lecture when answering a question that asks about “the next opportunity [for pr