One of America’s greatest crime is its long history of discrimination and racism while it poses as the “land of the free”. African Americans were brought up in ghettos and faced discrimination solely because of their race. They were raised believing that they were “worthless human being”. Just like Uncle James stated “this is the crime of which I accuse my country and my countrymen and for which neither I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives…”(8). The urgency of the letter was affluential to the point I felt as if the letter was being addressed to me, the reader. The pathos was definitely a strong point of  this letter.

The small problem I had was that Uncle James was too considerate when he said “most of mankind is not all of mankind”. Take a moment to understand what America has done to your people, to your culture and to your future. Racism would not have been such a controversial issue today if not for what happened in the past. This letter was written to offer sagely advice. Shortly before the advice, there was a list of grievances against society, which shed light on the psychological effects of being born black. They were taught that they were worthless, that they would settle happily on being mediocre, and that they could not aspire to excellence. Uncle James then urges his nephew to turn a deaf ear to his countrymen and trust only his experiences. But most importantly Uncle James cautions against conforming to the whites. From what I perceived, whites have not experienced discrimination and danger. So when any changes come about, they will react with fright and terror. Growing up in the harsh ghettos allows you to function in other environments. In ghettos, there are low chances of upward social mobility. There are no connections as opposed to other ethnic groups such as enclaves. When African Americans accept whites, it will be a time when whites are no longer prejudiced, when they recognize that they are at the same level as African Americans.