The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs, is a biography of an intellectual, young African-American named Robert Peace who overcomes his troublesome past and goes to Yale. Rob grew up living in East Orange, New Jersey with his mother Jackie. She knew from the beginning that Rob was going to be different then most of the other kids in his neighborhood because he enjoyed to learn and was good at it too. She worked hard so that Rob was able to get a proper education and hopefully escape the life that was destined for most growing up in their neighborhood. At Yale, he effortlessly achieved good grades as well as running his own drug business from his dorm room to help Jackie financially. After Yale, Rob continued with his drug business despite the numerous warnings from close friends on the danger of operating a drug business surrounded by very serious and territorial drug dealers. Just by looking at the cover, I knew Robert Peace was very different from me. Based on gender,background, and skin color, we have very different stories. Experiencing life through the eyes of someone who is very different from me, allowed me to gain a different viewpoint from my own on how other people see and experience everyday occurrences. By being an African-American,Rob was treated very differently and although he was very bright it was harder for him to gain respect. If Rob was of a lighter skin color going to Yale would be a great accomplishment and would not be looked at as such a rare opportunity. People wouldn't judge him before they got to know him or question his intelligence. Throughout the majority of the story, Rob’s father was in jail and due to his skin color and his background Rob’s father was treated with very little equality and was accused of a crime he didn't do. Being aware of more people's perspectives and experiences in the world helped me be more conscious towards everyone’s differences. Although the writer of the story was white, he showed Rob’s story through the eyes of Rob and his friends and how they were treated due to the racial divide. How they were looked at and the inequality and stereotypes placed on them due to their skin color, as well as the rare opportunity for Rob to go to Yale coming from the neighborhood he grew up in. This book shows that where you come from and the color of your skin should not define your future or hold you back from reaching your goals. Additionally, this book gave me a new, personal perspective on the racial inequality happening in our country. Hobbs explained the racial divide at Yale, “But a deeper transition affected people of color in this dazed context. Before course selections and extra-curricular sign-up sheets, before bags could even be unpacked in rooms, black students had to situate themselves within their own race. The process was complicated, conflicting, usually silent, highly fraught, and wholly invisible to their white classmates. Most of whom had never actively had to consider the role of race in their lives.” By Helen W.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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