Race and Class
For most white Americans race is not an issue, but merely a default category in this country's ethnic society. However, in the life of Dalton Conley many of the advantages that come with being white were denied due to his childhood living in New York's lower east side. Growing up white in an all Black and Latino society caused Dalton to have a keen appreciation for both race and class. Honky is a wonderful example of the differences of race and class in the life of a child. It seems that the most shocking realization that this book brings you to is exactly how much of a difference there is between race and class in that environment. Dalton learned these differences from the two most influential people in his life, his mother and father. Daltons mother, a writer from an upper class Pennsylvania family had an amazing influence upon Daltons up-bringing. Her choice of living in the projects of New York was the most dramatic experience that she could have put her children through. While it may be thought of as a poor decision, or that the racism would be reversed and the white boy would be persecuted, but this was not so. There were some difficulties for young Dalton but his race was, for much of his younger years, the furthest th
Dalton, unfortunately, still doesn't feel like part of a group when he changes schools because of his poverty. Again his race plays am important roll is how he is treated in the projects. The teacher apparently thought that being a white kid in this environment he must be treated with certain restraints that the other kids did not need. The predominately white school that he begins to attend focuses their "hierarchy" on class and money. The fact that the baby was a black girl meant nothing to him, at that age his surroundings had caused him to have a sort of racial ignorance. So in the case of Conley and his family, they may have been living a in the midst of a culture that was very impoverished, but they had no right to claim in any way that they were living in poverty. Every bias a person is shown effects their ability to choose life they way they want it to be. Daltons true question of class comes when he and his family move out of the projects and into an apartment in the village. A person with money has a choice of possessing, in some way, a house to live in and food to eat, but money is not the only enabling power in the world. Many other factors contribute to a person living in poverty. Dalton just never seems to be the majority in any way. It was this modicum of choice, not skin color per se, that ultimately distinguished us from our neighbors. School was more of the same situation, Dalton found that he was being treated differently due to the difference in his skin color. I don't believe this claim was ever made, but I think it is important to see the separation that was very present between the Conley family and the people they were living around.
Common topics in this essay:
Black Babies,
Black Latino,
Dalton Conley,
,
race class,
conley family,
class dalton,
living poverty,
skin color,
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