Browse Items (60 total)

This short story follows an unnamed American narrator and his peers traveling to Africa for writing inspiration. It points out and pokes fun at the tendency of European and American authors to use contrasting epithets to describe the continent, such…

The author of this letter, who is the feature editor of the Citadel literary magazine, advertises their "Parade of Southern Belles" feature, which he asserts "is not a beauty contest, but more of a parade or exhibit of Southern girls." He then asks…

This comedic map of the University of Richmond campus features racist jokes. One can be seen in the captions around the gym, called "Jim," which refer to black athletic trainer Esau Brooks as "the Indian rubber man." Running to the gym is an "Indian…

This short story takes place in Guatemala and explains the folktale of esperanza, or hope. A boy named Miguelito first discovers an esperanza bug, then accidentally kills it while fighting his older brother. However, nobody seems to care as much as…

In this short story, a woman named Rebecca reflects on her new life in Africa while hitchhiking with a man named Jeff, who is described as "weather-tanned." His race is not identified. After he stops on the side of the road, he begins to make…

The editor of the Messenger, John Davis, lashes out at students Lacy and Atkins for their criticism of the literary magazine's contents. Both men called for the magazine to contain more humor and Davis urges for them to submit some themselves, as the…

In this article, Jay Feldman recounts his experience at the 1969 March on Washington for peace in Vietnam. He tells of meeting fellow youth activists Howard Force, Mark Rosenberg, Andy Bookbinder, and an unnamed “Wisconsin janitor.” The march,…

The narrator of this poem expresses his identity as part of a "colossal being" of black people, preferring the collective 'we' to the singular 'I.' He explores slavery as "the torture that was endured for years and still / Silently exists today"…

In this short story, an American soldier named Taylor is shot and killed after enduring torture in an unspecified Asian POW camp. Taylor is reincarnated multiple times before the story of his shooting is told, in which a military commander named…

This short story is a retelling of the myth of Perseus and Medusa, written in black American dialect by a white student. The young women in the tale are oversexualized and the narrator exhibits colorism by referring to Polydectes's "high yaller"…