View a FREE sample

Toothbrush

This object symbolizes the hierarchical structure that often existed within African American society in the years during and following the Civil War. In one instance, Booker T. Washington gave a speech to former slaves. He urged them to procure one of these objects and to employ it religiously. The condescending tone of this instruction is used by Gates to illustrate both his disdain for Booker T. Washington's comportment during this era and the tendency for former slaves to be ostracized by whites and African Americans alike in the years following Emancipation.

Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church

This object symbolizes the way in which white supremacist ideology often results in senseless violence. Gates refers only tangentially to this object throughout the book, relying on the reader to be knowledgeable about the horrific events that happened in this location in South Carolina in 2015. The event involving this object...

(read more Symbols/Objects)

This section contains 784 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample