"Recitatif" by Toni Morrison

The story happens with a description of “St. Bonny’s or St. Bonaventure, the shelter where Twyla, the narrator, meets Roberta, the story’s other main character, when they are both eight years old. Twyla was white. Roberta was white. Twyla claims that her mother told her that people of Roberta’s race smell funny. She moved to the room with Roberta on the grounds that her mother wouldn’t approve. She finds Roberta understanding to her situation. Most children at the shelter are orphans, she is there because her mother always busy with the night. Roberta is there because her mother is really sick. They are very isolated from the people because they are scared of the older girls. However, Twyla’s mother says that the black people usually “never wash their hair and they smell funny”, that was racism. Twyla also tells the Big Bozo, “My mother will not like you putting me there.” That was racism also because Twyla’s mother did not want her daughter to roommate with a black girl.

            That reminded me of the past, I had gotten the blatantly racism many time because I am Mexican. One time, when I was young, I went to the story and the police decided to stop me and asked me, “Do you have green card” with a nice smile.  I swear to the god, I wanted to punch in his face because that was OBVIOUSLY racism. But it was good things because I responded it with a smart mouth with a saying, “Uh, Are you familiar with the law in America?”, and “Was that perfect example of racism?” and I found that offensive. They got humiliated pretty much, and then were quiet for few minutes. My mom educated me a lot about racism. I do familiar with the law in America. The most recent, I was on the way to 7eleven store with my several friends. They were white except me. DC police stopped and asked me, “Do you have any drugs on you?”  In my mind, why not DC police ask my friends instead. Obliviously, the police chose me because I am Mexican. I was angry because it made me looking bad. Dc polices were touching my body. But lucky, I told my mom about it. My mom wasn’t happy. We told to the organization about it, they said they will have had him fired from the DC police. I was thrilled about it.