Let's Be Better

Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir of a girl who was born and grew up during the civil rights movement. I used this book as a learning experience to learn more about people who are different than me. For my reading journal this week, I thought that a good way to evaluate the similarities and differences between myself and Jacqueline Woodson. 

For starters, I have grown up in a stable, single-family home and the furthest we have moved as a family is across town. I was fortunate enough to have born into a family with great financial stability and I was fortunate enough to never have to worry about where my next meal was coming from. I am so thankful for the life I have been given but I do recognize the importance of educating myself about other cultures and learning about inclusion, equality, and justice. 

 Jacqueline Woodson was born in arguably one of the most divided times in our country’s history. When she was born, her parents were still together but soon after, they split. She, her siblings, and her mother moved half-way across the country to South Carolina where they found themselves in the middle of the civil rights “war” where they saw and experienced racism and prejudice as part of their everyday lives. On a search for freedom, Jacqueline’s mother leaves the children with their grandparents to look for a better life for all of them in New York. She eventually comes back and they all move to Brooklyn where they live in a building that is less than ideal and they wind up leaving and moving in with her aunt Kay. 

Descriptions of our lives do enough to highlight our differences as people so now I would like to think about our similarities. I have always been someone to stand up for what’s right and to use my voice to make a difference and to make change. I noticed throughout the book, Jacqueline uses her voice and bravery for the same reasons. While I personally would argue that her perspective and voice is a lot more powerful than mine, I think it is important that everyone uses their voice to do what is right. We need to make a change in this world for the better. This book highlights what life was like to live in such a troubling time. A time with events similar to ones we have seen in the last year as the Black Lives Matter Movement has erupted. A time where a voice is the most powerful thing about us. We should use our voices in the same way that Jacqueline Woodson did in her story.

• Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. , 2014. Print.