Perspective Crown Heights

Fire in the Mirrors-Perspective

Anna Deavere Smith did an excellent job of piecing together an outline that provided reasons why Blacks and Jews retaliated to the Crown Heights situation as they did. The first issue she touched upon is the issue of identity, Robert F. Sherman claims that we as Americans have not identified what racism is; Later, in Seven Verses she acts as Minister Conrad Mohammad who expresses that Black Americans have deprived of their identity, The second issue that Anna Deavere Smith exhibits is the issue ignorance; ignorance of one another’s race. She exhibits this through Reverend Al Sharpton. Reverend Al Sharpton talks about his hair and how a lot of people think that he is assimilating to white people but in reality he is not. According to him he does it for James. He said, “ it’s me and James thang.” Anna Deavere also expresses this problem of ignorance through the Anonymous Lubavitcher Woman. The Lubavitcher woman asks the black child indirectly to turn the radio on and she said that the black boy probably thinks Jews are not smart. These issues are important because they were part of the reason Blacks and Jews retaliated as they did to the Crown Heights case. One of the main problems in that case is every one failed to see the other race’s perspective. The Jews believed one thing and the Blacks witnessed another. They did not want to work together, and the story was very vague. From viewing both perspectives (Black and Jewish) I am more inclined to believe the Black people because they are the ones who witnessed the situation and also because they have proved their integrity in the pasty (when they were slaves) and the White people haven’t. Also I am more inclined to believe the Black people because of the time period and the White people in the past have not been punished for crimes because the judges let them off the hook.