White Like Me

Throughout American history there has been racial issues that have effected certain groups in our society. From a young age, Tom Wise began to see these developments first hand since he was put in a black and white school by his parents because they didn't want him to grow up as a segregated minded person. He began to see how faculty would treat his African American friends differently then the Caucasian students. When Tom Wise got to college, he knew it was his mission to impact race relations in a positive way. It wasn't until a women questioned him by asking if he was really doing anything to help race relations in his college. After this, he began holding seminars in his school to try to bring the campus together to better understand the racial problems that are found in society.

In the book "Black like me" a white southern male began to try to understand what it meant to be black. He quite literally made his skin black and in turn saw first hand the treatment of blacks across the nation. This book tried to portray that most white people in America don't know what it means to be black. This portrayal never sat in to Tom Wise until he was much older and re-read the novel.

A turning point in many African Americans minds was in 2008 when President Barack Obama was elected. He would be the first African American president in U.S, history. This was seen as a time for change in the black community since a fellow black American was the commander and chief of America. For many older African Americans who were involved in some way to the civil rights movement, this was the payoff for all that they have done. They also believed that once he was put in office he would improve race relations across the nation. The election of Barack Obama was a critical point in African American history.