Josie Crawford

Professor Skutar

ENGL 2241

16 April 2024

Different Bodies, Same Thoughts

Next Life I’ll Be White by Laurence Thomas and in the Inner City by Lucille Clifton

generate many similarities behind ideas and beliefs but are in form, different. The sociology of

American citizens tends to follow a common pattern to those that lead us. Clifton and Thomas

delve into their own experiences with the common public and what others think of them and their

lives based on a quick glance. They have their oddly different perspectives on discrimination but

yet support the same idea. Both authors create a bold story on taking small but joyous tasks for

granted. Thomas shows his historical perspective on Kant and Plato’s ancient views and beliefs,

and there’s a big glance into the racial challenges here in America. And, although these texts are

similar they differ in ways; Clifton using her words and Thomas using his tone. These texts are

similar, they formulate the same ideas and experiences, but their paths separate when you look at

the format of the writing, and this is because they were different authors trying to reach the same

audience on a broader spectrum.

The first text given to us is a poem, in the Inner City by Lucille Clifton. The poem

consists of fifteen short lines and is unique in many ways for its length. Clifton gives us her take

on what the phrase ‘the inner city’ means, coming from different perspectives. To her, it means

home, a place where ‘silent nights’ are spent and ‘pastel lights’ are seen but to others, or

outsiders, it’s just ‘the inner city.’ Why are people’s ideas of downtown or ‘the inner city’

skewed? A majority of this poem is about what the inner city is made of and where different
discourse communities reside and form stereotypical opinions. This is similar to the stereotypical

opinion driven treatment from outsiders, Luarence Thomas, received.

The following piece we are comparing is Next Life I’ll Be White, written by a professor at

Syracuse University who goes by Laurence Thomas. This document is a news article in the New

York Times newspaper from the year 1990. Thomas discusses his ideas and beliefs on how ‘the

public trust of whites’ is given to morally inferior humans, typically white men. He creates a

story in this short text with his sarcastic tone while describing his personal experiences in the

general public. Thomas also makes some very specific references to an unrighteous belief of

famous ancient philosophers; Immanuel Kant and Plato. He goes into grave detail about how

white men are morally superior because the common public puts them on that pedestal. But, for

what? The truth is, there is no good reason as to why the common public holds them to such a

standard, it’s all sociological.

Both of these stories dive into the poorly developed sociological structure of America.

Sociology is the study of the way humans function in society. The general society in America,

oftentimes, creates this uncomfortable stereotype against African American people, commonly

referred to as racism. Thomas puts this into context for us when he says, “My 40-year journey

has revealed to me that more often than not, I need only to be in the presence of a white woman

and she will begin clutching her pocketbook.” (Thomas 3.) He says he doesn’t even enjoy going

out into public anymore because something as simple as shopping at the ‘supermarket’ will have

a white woman ‘rushing for her pocketbook.’ This is one of the many ways Thomas is mistreated

as he goes through his journey as a black male.

Clifton writes about similar opinions people have about her and the place she calls home,

“in the inner city / or / like we call it / home” (Clifton 1.) She begins the poem with these four
lines and the people who are calling the city anything other than home, have different, or outside

perspectives, as to what the city consists of. Clifton is saying to her, the inner city is home but to

outsiders, typically white people, it is ‘the inner city.’ This stereotype is formed from people who

don’t live in the city, let alone, like going to the city. In an article published “Why is America So

Anti-City? It Holds Back the Entire Country” where Lynn Parramore interviews Richard

McGahey. He states, “We were set up that way. The founding documents were hostile to cities. It

was a surprising thing to me how much state governments hate cities as well.” (McGahey.) He

talks about North America’s history and how we were set up to discriminate, this country was

built on segregation and the upbringing of many others after that, is a result of the views the

general public have now. McGahey talks about many factors as to why people who reside in the

suburbs have this common misconception about the city. Much of his argument though is pushed

onto our government and the way state and municipal governments run cities, which then drive

citizens to form stereotypical opinions about the inner city and the people who live in it.

Both texts show some form of discrimination and this isn’t uncommon for most African

Americans in the United States. The National Library of Medicine published a study with many

useful statistics, one stating, “A majority of black adults also reported being the targets of

interpersonal discrimination, as 52 percent reported hearing microaggressions and 51 percent

reported hearing racial slurs.” (NIH.) This just goes to show how Thomas, Clifton, and over half

of African Americans in the United States are discriminated against in the common public. This

is similar to how Thomas describes his experiences as a black male and how Clifton refers to the

city as her home and not just ‘the inner city,’ as most white people do.

Clifton and Thomas also see eye to eye on taking beautiful but small things for granted

when a person is white and has the public trust or views the city as off putting. Clifton portrays
this beauty when she writes, “We think about uptown / and the silent nights / and the houses

straight as / dead men / and the pastel lights” (Clifton 5.) Here, clifton is referring to uptown,

which in the city, is typically nicer, quieter, and truly astonishing in most cities. This is what she,

along with many others who are native to the city life, think about when referring to the city.

Outsiders, on the other hand, may think of the city as crime ridden and covered in trash, denying

themselves a beautiful place with endless opportunities. When thought about, Clifton is referring

to her friends and family of African American descent who reside in the city when she states

‘we’ in the poem. She talks in the poem as though they are one, one whole community, and this

is where they live and how they view their home. PBS states in an article, “Race-The Power of

an Illusion” that ‘70 percent’ of African Americans or people of Latinx origin reside ‘in the cities

or inner-ring suburbs.’ This creates another opportunity for outsiders, or typically in this case,

white people, to judge cities based on statistics and based on race. People who often steer clear

from the city are not only avoiding astonishing views but also missing out on exhilarating

experiences, and infinite possibilities that the city brings.

Thomas also talks majorly about how ‘being affirmed by others is indispensable to our

flourishing’ but it is hard to flourish when you do not have the public trust. And, those who do

have the joyous opportunity of enjoying the ‘public trust of whites’ regularly, take it for granted.

Thomas makes reference to this when saying, “So let me just respond with the observation that

the public trust that white men claim to be irrelevant is something that they have always enjoyed

and take for granted. People generally do not appreciate the role of a good in their lives when

they are able to take it for granted.” (Thomas 12.) Thomas blatantly states that white males take

for granted the public trust everyday they go outside. White men, very rarely, have to worry

about being discriminated against while out in public simply because the common trust of whites
is given to white males. There is no reason as to why, other than basing morals off of skin color

and years of listening to the people we look up to talk poorly about minority groups and cities.

This, in turn, causes Americans' sociological makeup to, naturally, think a certain way about a

group of people. Going into public is something most caucasian people don’t think twice about,

because being discriminated against isn’t a common occurrence or a worry they have, which is

how something so simple is so easily taken for granted.

Not only is walking into a grocery store or shopping at the mall as a white male taken for

granted, but our government, in no way shape or form, does anything besides create laws to

prohibit this kind of public discrimination and expect citizens to follow them. FindLaw released

an article on “Discrimination in Public Accomodations: Government Enforcement” that

addresses the laws created by the government. The site states that the government created the

‘Civil Rights Act of 1964’ which prohibits discrimination in public spaces based on ‘race, color,

religion, or national origin.’ And, although this is a broad start to change, it was a start. The rest

was up to us as humans after, and this is where our sociological patterns start to develop.

Humans typically start as followers or are inspired by someone, and they then formulate opinions

based on what that inspiration has said or done. When we are young, the people we model our

behaviors after are usually our parental figures, religious features, or maybe even a favorite

superhero. This is what most Americans would consider our government, we look up to our

leaders with utmost respect and then create our own opinions based off of what they say. The

government created laws but they did nothing to enforce them and everybody watched that.

Citizens in the US still choose to have people lead in our government who are a part of the

racism in America. This continues to be a problem in higher ranked social classes and most of

America is supporting the people who commute to the problem, which ultimately, is an issue for
people who are a part of minority communities. A good majority of America is the problem but

the government is doing nothing to change the citizens of America's minds, which they have the

power of doing. The common public gives their trust to white men because it is white men who

are convincing us to trust them. More could be done all around to fix the issue of systemic

racism so ‘truly moral’ people like Thomas and Clifton can enjoy the little things in life that

others take for granted.

Speaking historically, Thomas also refers to a habitual belief famous philosophers Plato

and Kant have that ‘the truly moral person is indifferent to the public trust.’ Now, when reading

this for the first time you may think that he is giving credibility to his argument, that he is

agreeing with these two white-male-famous-ancient philosophers, but he’s not. No, Thomas is

actually disagreeing with them, he is stating that the public trust is given to white males which

then makes others suffer, in turn, this does not make a moral person indifferent, it puts them up

on a pedestal socially. Thomas goes on to say that he can’t prove two famous ancient

philosophers wrong, but, like earlier, makes a point to say white men have always taken the

public trust for granted, because ‘they often discount its significance’ instead of appreciating ‘the

role of a good’ when it is given to them. This is important because not only does it give readers a

different perspective from Kant and Plato’s views but it also goes to show how much can change

in civilization over time.

Though both of these writings portray similar messages over all, they are significantly

different in other aspects. Clifton writes her story through a poem whereas Thomas decided his

story was made for a New York Times newspaper. They are not only formed differently, but the

way they create contrast is also wildly different. Clifton uses her word choice to create contrast,

stating, “and in the inner city / or / like we call it / home” (Clifton 12.) She uses the word ‘home’
commonly suggested around a place you find comfort and warmth in, but she contrasts that with

‘the inner city’ by creating a cold and bitter feeling around those three words. Whereas Thomas

contrasts by using different tones in his writing. Thomas angrily states, “Four officers! What on

earth was I reported as: — 10 feet tall in military garb? Or, “There is a black man…”? ” (Thomas

7) changing the tone as he writes sarcastically directly after, “Many of my well-placed black

friends in the academy report similar mind-boggling stories. We could support a

“Believe-It-Or-Not” column for years.” (Thomas 8.) He makes sure throughout the story that he

is approaching with a joking manner but there’s also a sense of innocence and mistreatment of a

‘truly moral’ person just trying to live. The way these two texts are written are oddly different

because they were different people with different experiences trying to reach a broader audience

on the subject.

Next Life I’ll Be White and in the Inner City connect on a deeper level, but the way they

were created by their authors is fiercely different. They take us on a historical journey, not a fun

one, but one that is important to gain knowledge on in order to make a change; Racial

challenges, discrimination, the United States Government, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the

sociological patterns of citizens in the United States. Thomas and Clifton relate on many levels

when referring to these dehumanizing experiences and you can empathize with them in the

writing. Both authors talk about the act of taking things for granted, whether that is the ‘silent

nights’ or the ‘public trust.’ These two texts drive down different roads when referring to the way

they contrast in their stories. Thomas is most successful in contrasting with the tone in the

writing, he goes from sarcastic, to describing his saddened personal experiences quickly.

Whereas Clifton chooses her wording carefully using cold-hearted words like, ‘the inner city’

compared to ‘home’ and ‘pastel lights,’ which bring a warmth to the story. It is important to gain
knowledge on the United State’s history so that we are certain to not repeat it, but it is also

important to show the different perspectives in minority groups and what they go through daily

to empathize with them. These authors wanted to reach a broader audience while relating their

own experiences and they succeeded in doing so.

 Sources Cited

Bleich, Sara N, et al. “Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of Black

Americans.” Health Services Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2019,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6864380/.

Thomas, Laurence. “Next Life I’ll Be White.” The New York Times, 13 Aug. 1990.

“‘in the Inner City’ by Lucille Clifton: E-Verse Radio.” E,

www.everseradio.com/in-the-inner-city-by-lucille-clifton/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.

Chapter 1. Kant and Plato, philarchive.org/archive/AJVKAC. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.

Parramore, Article By Lynn, et al. “Why Is America so Anti-City? It Holds Back the Entire

Country.” Institute for New Economic Thinking,

www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/why-is-america-so-anti-city-it-holds-back-the-e

ntire-country. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.

Discrimination in Public Accommodations: Government Enforcement ...,

www.findlaw.com/civilrights/enforcing-your-civil-rights/discrimination-in-public-accomm

odations-government-enforcement.html. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.

Johnson, Joyce. The Theme of Celebration in Lucille Clifton’s Poetry, 1983,

www.jstor.org/stable/1316643?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&ref

reqid=fastly-default%3A9aaee5b41193fc4c0bc1d808c9427069&seq=2.
“Race - the Power of an Illusion . Background Readings.” PBS, Public Broadcasting

Service,

www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-background-03-08.htm#:~:text=Across%20the%20

nation%2C%20four%20out,cities%20or%20inner%2Dring%20suburbs. Accessed 2 Apr.

2024.