The Coming of John

 The danger of a single story is that you only hear one side and/or one opinion. Then what happens is that what you learn from the story becomes all you know. Readers miss the truth and numerous more details about the story that were left out. This gives you a false sense of life and whatever you are reading. 

“Nkali” means “to be greater than another,” and this is part of the danger because all stories depend on power. The truth and problem about stereotypes are that we do not get to see the other side of the story. Often people are robbed of their true personalities and characteristics. Stereotypes also make it harder for each other to understand one another. 

The most important idea that I will take away from this TED talk is that in order to get the truth, you must read more than one side of the story. You cannot trust one story told by one person because there will often be bias, false information, and opinions. The best way to learn and read about something is to find more than one source. Secondly, another takeaway I found was to not trust stereotypes. There is so much more to people than what's on the outside, and this is not fair to those people who are not being seen for who they truly are. 

John Jones is a colored male who lives in the North. His life is filled with racial struggles, as he tries to find a place for himself that will depreciate him for the color of his skin. He is a fairly educated man that knows the difference between his life in the North and the racial system found in the South. Then there is the white man, John Henderson, who has power and white privilege. John Henderson does not have to live with racial discrimination and segregation.

By using fictional characters he was able to use many characteristics and events that happened during this time period and squeezing them into these two characters. If he would have used real people in his story, he would have had to be more historically accurate. This way we can learn more about the characters and the author has more freedoms on what they can add to the story. 

When John Jones begins his Northern education, he realizes that there are so many opportunities that he had not known about before. He learned about equality and justice, and this helps him get a better understanding of how different it is compared to the systems in the South. Yes, I do believe that education can change a person. This is because you learn so many things that you were unaware of before, and it helps open your eyes to see all of the things that you have missed. Learning in school helps you understand the world around you better, which can benefit you and everyone else who is also taking the time to learn. 

The connection I found between Chimamanda Achidies TED talk and this story is that they both cover the topic of stereotypes and individuals' characteristics/lives are being shaped by stories being told by one side of the situation. In the story, John Jones is trying to break away from the stereotype and prove to himself that he is more than that. 

Life now is very different than how it was in the 1960’s, during the time of the Jim Crow laws. At this time, Whites and African Americans were constantly separated. They each had their different schools, restaurants, restrooms, drinking fountains, placements on the bus, etc. These two ethnicities were not viewed as equal people and the African Americans were treated poorly. Adding onto the schooling situation, African Americans did not receive proper education. They did not have proper resources and were not given the same opportunities as white people. When it came to voting, they were often restricted and found themselves unable to vote. This was due to poll taxes and literacy tests, which did not give everyone equal access and opportunities. Lastly, I want to talk about the workforce and economic discrimination that was placed. African Americans were not allowed to work in high class jobs, and the jobs that they could find were low paying. Even if they shared the same job as a white individual, they would still be paid less. Overall, discrimination was to the extreme at this point in time and African Americans were not treated like human beings.