My Memoir

ARTIST STATEMENT LANGUAGE, EVEN MORE THAN COLOR, DEFINES WHO YOU ARE TO PEOPLE. By Trevor Noah In Born a Crime, Trevor experienced racism in South Africa. Like Trevor, I experienced racism at a private, Christian school I attended. After reading about Trevor’s experiences, I was inspired to write about my experience at the start of eighth grade. As a child of mixed parents, Trevor’s existence was illegal because relationships between men and women of different races was a crime. Trevor’s mother, Patricia, took him to church every Sunday. One of the churches was an integrated church. I, too, attend an integrated church. On page 26, Trevor attempts to go outside to play, but his grandmother tells him not to. She is afraid that he might be picked up by the authorities due to his mixed race. At first, Trevor was confused and did not understand why he had to stay inside. Later, he realized the reality of racism and he developed ways to cope with it, such as reading books, playing with toys, and creating imaginary worlds. On page 32, Trevor learns about the importance of prayer. His grandmother says that his prayers are more effective because of his ability to pray in English. Trevor mistakenly believes that Jesus is white and his prayers are meaningful because he prays in English to a white god. Trevor’s belief in a white Jesus affected his identity and self-worth. He believed that white and English speaking was better than black and native speaking. In my memoir, I identified and highlighted three of my identities. First, I am an African American. Second, I am a male. Third, I am a Christian. I see these identities in Trevor as well. I know that Jesus is neither black nor white but Jewish. Also, I showed that racism is real and personal. I experienced it. I am learning how to cope with racism. Most importantly, I am learning how to actively work to get rid of racism. Finally, I would like my reader to know that my old school was not all bad. There were pros and cons. There were Christians that tried to get rid of racism and those who tried to keep it going. I just believe that SLA is a better school for me, and I am glad that I am a part of the SLA community.