Homework Question #6

In Jay David’s "Growing Up Black", I most enjoyed the excerpt from Claude Brown’s "Manchild in the Promised Land". I was captivated by his story because it discusses an important part of the Migration I think many people overlook. During his childhood, Brown and his family moved from North Carolina to New York as many Southern African-Americans were doing in search of more freedom and more opportunities. However, moving up North to the “Promised Land” didn’t magically end the problems he’d faced in the South. In fact, Brown stated life in New York turned out to be much more difficult than he or his family had ever imagined. After a rough and rambunctious childhood, which he describes very vividly, Brown met his future mentor at fourteen while in reform school. In the years following his mentor inspired him to get his act together, Brown realized his gift for writing, and even got a law degree from Stanford University. I think Claude Brown’s story was not only great for young African-Americans during the Civil Rights Movement but is still influential because it is a timeless inspirational story. His autobiography brought to light the culture of violence and drugs that gripped most of the impoverished youths in Harlem. Even though Brown too was once immersed in that culture, his autobiography symbolizes that hard work, time, and dedication can take anyone anywhere.