New York Times Opinion Column Comparison

Article 1: How Blackface Feeds White Supremacy

Main Idea and Purpose (thesis)

Blackface is a serious problem and we portray African Americans in a negative way, mocking
them for the way that they act.

Evidence & Commentary

➔ White supremacy has taken a hit n the way we view our community
➔ Spawned racist caricature, was a way to portray black people
◆ Grimy, dancing, simpleton,
➔ Took a human and made them a joke
➔ White supremacy makes us believe that we can do this and get away with it calling it
“fun and games”

Style & Language

Expository

Article 2: The Racist Trope that Won’t Die

Main Idea and Purpose (thesis)

Racist trope that we put on black people is a recurring issue that is used throughout history
and still is going on today.

Evidence & Commentary

➔ Mostly stats about how people caracterize black people and what age they guessed
them about their skin color.
◆ Generally: black people should be 4.5 years older than they actually were.
◆ Saw them more ape-like than other people.
 ➔ Directly impacted trials, arrests, and other images using technology.
◆ Black people were more executed by trial because of ways portrayed in the
newspaper.

Style & Language

Formal persuasive and Informative about issue.

Article 3: African-Americans and the Strains of the National Anthem

Main Idea and Purpose (thesis)

Many African Americans have abandoned reverence to the national anthem.

Evidence & Commentary

➔ Newspapers written by African Americans

◆ Referred to the national anthem as the “caucasian national anthem”
➔ 20th century many african americans turned their back on the Star Spangled Banner
➔ Cheerleaders and athletes alike stayed seated during sporting events during the
anthem to show their reasonings.

Style & Language

Expository, because explaining facts.

Article 4: How the Suffrage Movement Betrayed Black Women

 Main Idea and Purpose (thesis)

The narrative we have written for the suffrage movement has left out influential black
women, because history itself has left out black women.

Evidence & Commentary

➔ The suffrage movement took on the white supremacy motives rather than the whole
female population motives.
◆ Happened when it was politically more acceptable if only white women could
vote.
➔ There were two different reasonings for wanting the right to vote
◆ White women wanted to feel parity next to their brothers, husbands, and
fathers
◆ Black Women wanted it for not only them, but their men, and having a voice in
the United States for the first times
➔ Douglass wrote about how the white women expected the african american women
to separate herself in two different ways: as a women and as an african american
◆ He says that they expected the impossible so didn't even give african american
women the time of day
◆ Used Jim Crow as an excuse
➔ Most blatant example of the racism
◆ 1913 suffrage parade
● Made African american march in their own delegation at the back of
the parade rather than having them march with their state.
➔ While the amendment did pass, and was nice for middle class white women, it truly
meant nothing to the black women for they didn't get to vote until 1965.

Style & Language

Formal Expository

Finally, Assessing the language, which do you find most persuasive despite your
personal point of view? Why? Put your opinions on the shelf and analyze these articles
for elements of effective writing.

The most persuasive article is the final article. The wording usage in this article conveys a type
of anger along with informative reasoning. The examples amplify the claims made by Brent
Staples, and the historic references continue to explain the point further. He also continues to
explain his point with connecting it to modern day life, showing how this is still happening
today, which makes the argument even stronger.