C.P. Ellis can be described as a Ku Klux Klan member, a union man, and many more things. Even though Ellis was a Klansman, that does not necessarily mean that he is a bad person. At first, when I started reading about Ellis, I did not think much of him. I thought of him as another Klansman that did not see the good in anyone or anything. As I kept reading on, I realized he is actually a decent man. He was a poor white man that worked hard seven days a week in order to barely support his family. He was angry at his life and had to blame it on somebody so he decided to blame it on the blacks. He joined the Klan but later realized what he was doing was wrong. Talking about the blacks, he said, “I found out they’re people just like me. They cried, they cussed, they prayed, they had desires. Just like myself” (68). Ellis realized that despite skin color, there was no difference between the whites and blacks. This connects to the March on Selma. When thousands of whites saw how brutal people were treating blacks, they realized that blacks should be treated with the same respect as white because they are people just like whites. The one thing I was confused about was why would people nominate Ellis to be chairman of a committee that works to fix racial problems if Ellis himself was a Klansman at the time? Besides that, I gained respect for Ellis because he changed his thoughts on racism. The second story I read was about Leonel I. Castillo, the former director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. When reading this, I felt an immediate connection to the illegal immigration discussions taking place as we speak. Castillo opened my eyes even more about the topic of immigration. Talking about an illegal immigrant, Castillo said, “He works as a busboy all night long. They pay him minimum or less, and work him hard. He’ll never complain” (78). Illegal immigrants come to the U.S. to live a better life. In reality, they are being given low incomes and long work hours. What I wonder from this is why? Why does our country reward some of our hardest workers with very little?
One of the things that you found was that both of these stories raise more questions than they answer. You asked why Ellis would be named to that committee. That's a great questions. What experience did he bring to the table that others didn't? Could he understand those who were still stuck in negative racial attitudes? Why might that be important? As I write that, it seems as though both of these stories speak strongly about the necessity of trying to listen to someone else's story.
ReplyDeleteIt is dissapointing how immigrants struggled to make a decent wage and were treated so poorly. Especially because they have had such a strong impact on our nation and its economy. It was probably because of the lack of education incoming immigrants had. Also, I'm sure Americans felt threatened that immigrants were coming in and willing to work for less. The whole thing cannot simply be put into black and white, but gray.
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