In Als’ article “My Mother’s Dreams for Her Son, and All Black Children”, he recounts his experience as a boy growing up in a black family. He talks about what it means to stay silent and watch as his male counterparts riot in reaction to the injustices they face in society.

In the second quote, Als states, “The world around us was not the one we had worked hard to achieve but the quiet, degraded world that our not-country said we deserved. We couldn’t keep nothing, the elders said, not even ourselves.” By saying this, Als expresses how the African American community at Brownsville was so oppressed by the police that it didn’t even seem like it was their home. They had become refugees of a police state despite working so hard to build up a community at Brownsville. Years of peaceful protests and civil rights had failed to even help them establish the basics rights to feel safe in their community and speak up. This quote reminds me of Langston Hughe’s poem “Let America be America Again”. In his poem, Langston Hughes talks about how African Americans have toiled and slaved for so long in the pursuit of freedom, but have yet to experience any. This resonates with Als because he also questions how truly effective civil rights movements have been in establishing equality between black and white people.

In another quote that states, “Like any number of black boys in those neighborhoods, I grew up in a matrilineal society, where I had been taught the power—the necessity—of silence,” Als brings up an interesting point about his role in his family and community. Despite being a man, Als learns from his mom that he has to learn to step down and remain silent in order to protect himself. However, when Als sees other black men go out and riot, he starts questioning this silence. At first, he sees the riots as a way for black men to enact a form of masculinity and somehow have the same perceived weight as white men. Later on, he learns from Christian Cooper that perhaps, silence as a form of survival is necessary because he needs to survive to protect his family and other people. This point is so interesting because although society gives men a dominant role in society and expects men to have more masculine characteristics, black men remain silenced and suppressed in order to stay safe with their families.

One final quote that stood out to me was when Als states, “I don’t remember exactly how many times we moved; in those days, my focus was on trying to win people over, the better to protect my family, or—silently—trying to fend off homophobia, the better to protect myself. My being a “faggot” was one way for other people to feel better about themselves. My being a “faggot” let cops know what they weren’t.” Als’s family constantly moves around because they want to stay safe. Als also mentions that racism is a very personal act that can cause the erasure of someone, so much so that they don’t know where they live. Als is a victim of this treatment and his lack of a stable home is a form of erasure. However, he allows himself to be diminished because this is the only way he can protect himself. His use of the word “faggot” is also very interesting because he allows himself to be called one so that others can feel better about themselves. By trying hard to win others over, he loses himself. That is the unfortunate experience that he has to go through as a black man.