Prejudice and Discrimination Depicted in Graduation,...

Not everyone will like you in fact many will hate you for no reason because they don’t know anything about you other than what you look like. This is the case in many stories like Graduation by Maya Angelou, Myth of a Latin Woman by Judith Cofer and Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther king Jr. To any reasonable person these stories would seem very depressing because of the way these people are treated and most of the time they get this treatment because they are too afraid to speak up. Although some people are wrongfully treated as inferior knowing it doesn’t help stop it, only action can take away the prejudice and discrimination suffered by these people. Graduation by Maya Angelou really touches on the fact that†¦show more content†¦Her self-esteem was easily crushed and it took a song by the valedictorian to remind her of who she was. After that she was motivated to prove Donleavy wrong because her education would help her become as successful as an y white man. She didn’t wait and become successful as a writer, dancer, public speaker and civil rights leader. Martin’s story was a bit more alarming because he was in jail for demonstrating in Alabama. Even though he was nonviolent his action was met with violent unjust attacks and it became obvious to many blacks at the time that violence was inevitable. The main concern was about whether to act or to wait because nonviolent action would only result in more pointless violence. But king responded by saying that there was no other choice because people have been quiet for too long and if they didn’t act equal rights would never be obtained. His fellow clergymen say wait but he says that they don’t know the reality and cruelty of the situation which leads him to this direct action campaign. King’s story ends with his criticisms of how the police are being praised for keeping order when they are violently attacking innocent Negroes. He ends his lett er by comparing discrimination like a cloud that is constantly looming over his head. Finally Cofer’s story sees her wrestling against the white stereotype of a Latin woman because of her appearance. As a girl she was seen as indecent when she attended parties because was