Kayla Banks

Hist 1700
Chad Ostler
December 2, 2015
Voices of Freedom
Freedom has never been easily accessible. Even after fights, protests, wars, and countless
attempts to define man's rights on this earth there is always something tainting the purity of the
word freedom. Richard Wright willingly exiled himself to France in order to obtain the freedom
he was in search for. Back in the United States, southern members of the Senate and House of
Representatives were fighting to keep freedom to a minimum for certain minorities deeming
their motives as completely constitutional with no evidence from the constitution or any
amendment to state otherwise.
From Richard Wright, I Choose Exile (1950), the prominent black novelist chose to
leave the United States to become the true meaning of free and gain a better life. From the
Southern Manifesto (1956), the southern members of the Senate and House of Representatives
fought for segregated schools stating that as long as both parties has separate but equal facilities,
it was not an unconstitutional act nor does it affect the education system maintained by the states.
According to Wright, there is more freedom in one square block of France than there is in
the whole United States. In his eyes, this nation has violated its constitution by cynically
punishing a defenseless minority. After spending half his life in America fighting for negro
rights, it has been declared that if his fight was not right than nothing was right.

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The Southern Manifesto doesn't help Wrights negative views on America. To have 101
men of political stature fight to keep schools segregated gives validation to Wrights exile. To
continuously push separation between two groups is to continuously punish the one deemed less.
This creates a wall in society and plagues our history with hatred.
I believe the southern members of the Senate and the House of Representatives choose to
wear blindfolds and stay ignorant to the issue at hand. Instead of seeing the whole picture, the
mistreatment of humans, they sit there trying to come up with excuses for their behavior. They
point out that no amendment, or the constitution, say anything about education. They would
rather accuse the Supreme Court of judicial abuse and try to limit their power than to see the
schools become integrated with blacks and whites.
Reading both of these documents really set my perspective as to where to world was
around this time. The constitution states that all men are created equal and yet there were still
people fighting for negro rights who were supposed to be free. It's sad to know that the only way
Wright, and probably many others, could find true freedom was to leave home and leave the
country to do so. Meanwhile, the southern politics were trying to excuse their judgment and fight
to maintain control instead of using their power to right the wrongs of the past and move forward
to a new state of mind and peace where racism isn't involved and integration isn't unheard of.
I stand on the side of Wright. It's sad to have to fight so hard to be treated like a human
being should be treated, but there was light at the end of his tunnel. He was able to find freedom
and peace. I wish this could be a lesson learned throughout history, but sadly inequality is
something that is still experienced and something that isn't easily acquired.

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