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Aaron Rosales
Professor Lago
Experiences in Literature
20 April 2014
Dissecting Racism
Racism is a theme widely explored in numerous literary works. Many writers have used
historical setting during their lives and let the actions of others influence their writing to express
their opinions and experiences with racial discrimination. One of these notable writers is Toni
Cade Bambara, a political and social activist, who participated and led events and organizations
that aimed to promote equality in terms of gender, race, and class. In her short story, The
Lesson, she mainly explores class, but at the same time exposes racism that was prominent
during her time when she was writing her short story. Furthermore, Bambara fuses her past into
the characters in her story that enable the readers to explore in depth perspective on racism.
Bambara was born in New York City and grew up in Harlem and Queens where she lived
with her mother and brother. As she was raised in Harlem and went to college in Queens,
Bambara chose to embrace the language of her culture and community, and that language
became a powerful tool for her (Goodnough). As a Harlem born author, her experiences
influenced most of her writings as most of her stories depicted the harsh daily lives of people
who lived in the African American neighborhoods of New York City. Specifically, many of her
stories are told from the point of view of a young African American (Guy-Sheftall). For instance,
in her story The Lesson which is told from the first-person point of view of Sylvia, a young
African American girl who also happens to live in the poor area of New York City. Sylvia is a
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girl who does not know that racism can exist everywhere. In the story, when Sylvia and Rosie
Giraffe saw a woman in a fur coat during the summer, they used the phrase white folks are
crazy (Bambara 80). This shows that wealth and race are linked to each other. For that reason,
Sylvia was exposed to racism in a way that Bambara probably had experience when she was
younger and possibly until her older years. Bambara was able to reflect on how her life was
through Sylvia's exposure to racism when they went to the toy store.
What is more interesting is that during the time period when Bambara's work was written,
Harlem Renaissance just ended. In this intellectual movement, Bambara was inspired to develop
her writing even more. However, racism still existed and was still spreading. As mentioned,
through a close examination of her story The Lesson, it can be seen that Bambara provides an
insight through the eyes of a young girl of what it was like during her time when economic status
and race intertwined. This experience allowed me to understand that Bambara's was more than a
short story, but a deeper recollection of her past memories.
Moreover, The Lesson indirectly depicted racism at the very beginning of the story.
This is evident when Sylvia says, This lady moved on our block with nappy hair and proper
speech and no makeup. And quite naturally, we laughed at her, laughed the way we did at the
junk man... (Bambara 87). Sylvia makes fun of the woman that she does not know personally.
Since she's very young, she probably does not know the implications of her thoughts and
language. Sylvia's chosen word nappy shows how she quickly judges the woman, Miss Moore,
simply by her physical appearance. This is an important aspect in racism because it started with
how people have used not only the color of one's skin, but also one's style of hair or size of eyes
to discriminate, belittle, and/or isolate people. Bambara who as well grew up in Harlem as a
young girl in a community like the one in the story shows how similar the settings were when
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she wrote the story. What is more intriguing in this short story is that Sylvia is also black African
American. With this, the same-race racism exists. In addition, Bambara emphasizes that it is
important to understand that racism can exists among the same group of people no matter what,
who, and where they are from originally. Sylvia may not be fully aware that her derogatory
action is considered as a form of racism even though she shares similar characteristics or race as
Miss Moores.
By analyzing the story, there are two possible ways that a reader can assume. First,
Bambara can take on Sylvia's experience in a way that she used to be the same little girl who first
encountered racism without fully understanding what it really was. Second, Bambara who was
very articulate, smart, and open-minded can take on Miss Moore's perspective in the story in a
way that they share the same characteristics and values in life. Taking these into a consideration,
one can see how little did Sylvia know that she, even as a child, has the power to offend others
indirectly through the use of improper or disrespectful words. Racism is shown when Sylvia
uttered, And she was black as hell, except for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky
(Bambara 87). Here, Sylvia's description of Miss Moore's dark skin color implies how shallow
and ignorant she is. In fact, the cold attitude in the way she says this line is unacceptable. This
shows how people have become ignorant and careless they are in regards to their choosing of
words. Thus, racism still exists because people still use such way of behaving towards other
people.
Bambara intends to put a glimpse of her past, her views, and feelings in her stories.
Bambara focused on portraying the oppressed black community because she was fully aware of
the racist, hardheaded, heedless society that minorities like herself faced during her time
(Bambara 14). In her writings, she emphasizes the black communities, such as the one in The
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Lesson, to expose the struggles they faced and the help they need to understand how social
inequality in the society truly exists. For instance, racism is portrayed when Sylvia says, And
we kinda hated her too, hated the way we did the winos... (Bambara 87). The use of the word
hate is associated with racism because this is one way a person can feel another dark colored
skin individual very upset and out of place. To understand Bambara's deep concern in regards to
racism, she uses such derogatory word to depict the gravity of this societal issue. The chosen
word hate is deeply connected to how racial discrimination still exists in the society. When a
person hates another individual of color, he or she uses an excuse to make the other person feel
that he or she does not belong in the community. Based on Sylvias words, Bambara exposes the
truth and reality of young children and how they treat other people. Another instance when
Sylvia's behavior implied racism is when she mentions that ...we all poor and live in the slums
which I don't feature (Bambara 89). Although Sylvia knows that Miss Moore is well educated
and very articulate, Sylvia still displays negative attitude toward Miss Moore because she
probably has never met a black woman who went to college before. As what I have mentioned,
Bambara can be seen as Miss Moore who is trying to move forward past such judgment. Also, it
is interesting that Sylvia acts ignorant because she may not be well-educated yet about racism.
With this, Miss Moore's role is to show Sylvia and the other kids the other side of the oppressed
community. Thus, Miss Moore, similar to Bambara, uses her knowledge to allow other people to
understand how racism works and how people should learn that it can impact anyone's lives.
Furthermore, during the time of Bambara's generation, ignorance towards racism was
apparent. In her story, it can be assumed that Sylvia's parents definitely have influenced the way
Sylvia talks and looks down upon Miss Moore. When Sylvia mentions, Which is just one of the
things the grownups talked about when they talked behind her back like a dog (Bambara 87), it
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shows that it is easy for children to follow what their parents do. Thus, racism spreads out more
in the society when the parents of the society are showing indifference and ignorance as well
towards social and racial equality. If Sylvia was raised and taught by her parents to respects
others more and to not judge people by their color, appearance, and race, then maybe she would
not be acting the way she is towards Miss Moore. Furthermore, a child raised and surrounded
with negative perspective about the how the society works and other people, will definitely
create a negative environment for the new generation. In addition, Bambara states, Ones got to
see what the welfare children see in order to tell the truth and not get trapped. Got to see more
and dare more (Bambara 14). In other words, Bambara writes from the point of view of the
oppressed such as Sylvia, in order to expose the truth about racism to others. Much like Miss
Moore trying to expose the unfairness of social class to the children, Bambara on the other hand
exposed the racial discrimination that was happening in the story.
Also, when Miss Moore took the children to the toy store, the items in the store caught
the children's attention. One evidence is when the children saw a handcrafted sailboat of
fiberglass being sold for $1,195, Miss Moore says, Poor people have to wake up and demand
their share of the pie (Bambara 94). With this statement, Miss Moore is focusing on teaching
the children that in order for one to achieve what he or she wants, he or she has to put work and
effort for it. This makes me realized that she is implying that people are not handed money or
wealth easily because everyone must work hard for what he or she desires in life and what he or
she deserves to acquire in life. This is a vital part of the short story because this is when Miss
Moore hopes to open the minds of the children regarding their thoughts about class and even
racism. In addition, when Sugar asserts, "'this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal
chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don't it?' (Bambara 95), it
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illustrates how people really view social equality. However, this view is flawed because children
should be taught that equality does not only mean economic equality because equality has so
much more into it, including racial equality.
Ultimately, this short story has helped me understand how Bambara tied her past
experiences into the story regarding the issue of racism, as well as class. Bambara has made me
realize that simple things children see and hear can definitely impact how the new generation
will view life and people in the society. Her story was written in order to teach people about how
people's differences can change how the society works. Her powerful words enable the readers to
somehow feel what she felt when she became a victim of racism. Although the story has helped
me understand that racism is hard to eliminate in the society, Bambara has aided me to
understand that a persons skin color or race has nothing to do with what kind of person he or she
will become or what choice he or she will make. However, class and racism do coexist which
make them even more difficult to vanish in the society. Thus, reading between the lines of the
short story, we can see that the main characters Sylvia and Miss Moore are to a certain extent the
illustration of Bambara herself.






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Works Cited
Bambara, Toni Cade. Toni Cade Bambara. Black Women Writers at Work.
Claudia Tate. New York: The Continuum Publishing Corporation, 1983. (12-38). Print
Bambara, Toni Cade. Gorilla, My Love. 1st Vintage Books ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1981.
Goodnough, Abby. "Toni Cade Bambara, a Writer And Documentary Maker, 56.
" The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Dec. 1995. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/11/nyregion/toni-cade-bambara-a-writer-and-
documentary-maker-56.html>
Graves, Roy Neil. "Bambara's the lesson." The Explicator 66.4 (2008): 214+. Literature
Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Guy-Sheftall, Beverly. Commitment: Toni Cade Bambara Speaks. Sturdy Black Bridges:
Vision of Black Women in Literature. Ed. Roseann P. Bell, Bettye J. Parker, and Beverly
J. Guy-Sheftall, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979.
Heller, Janet Ruth. "Toni Cade Bambara's Use Of African American Vernacular English In "The
Lesson." Style 37.3 (2003): 279-293. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.
Pegasus Books. "The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara. YouTube. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.