The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

60 The Idea of an Essay: Volume 4 Rankine’s article calls her readers to action: Not to dismiss black communities’ complaints as dramatized, to understand another culture’s viewpoint, and not to walk over dead men without giving them a second thought. Since I didn’t feel like I could relate to most of what she depicted as a black life, this article gave me insight into how some African Americans view life. I was saddened to read of the despair that they feel, yet I now better understand and appreciate the Black Lives Matter movement and the value of mourning. Articles like this one help me to value analyzing the effect of racial tensions in American society. Although it’s still painful to watch and read of injustices, acknowledging that there is an issue doesn’t have to be simply depressing; mourning is a way to value lives in our country. I look forward to the day where killings don’t feel commonplace in African American communities and when those deaths move our society to mourn. Work Cited Rankine, Claudia. “’The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning’.” The New York Times Magazine. The New York Times, Co. 21 June 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2015