In the article, “My Mother’s Dreams for Her Son, and All Black Children,” Hilton Als writes about growing up in Brooklyn and his reaction to racism by recounting events from his childhood to the present day.

Following the brutal murder of Richard Ross—a fourteen-year old black kid—there were protests in many major cities. When the cops got involved, the protests often times turned into riots. As Als and his mother remained protected in their house, Als could not help but peek from behind his living-room curtains and watch the protestors. He writes:

“Standing by my mother’s living-room window, I tried,                     tentatively, to ask her why our world was burning,                             burning. She gave me a forbidding look: Boy, be quiet so                  you  can survive, her eyes seemed to say.”

This quote is significant because it demonstrates the gravity of the situation and represents how Als was forced to grow up quicker than other children by experiencing what he did at such a young age. Als emphasizes the word “burning” by repeating it, intensifying the scene and actualizing what is happening.

When Als finally stepped out of his house after the protest, he saw that his community was mourning; Als says:

“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.”

The significance of this quote is to show how Als’ outlook on the world and America was forever changed. The word “not-country” stands out to me because it is an obvious way for Als to make his point; he is direct in regarding America as a place that is not looking out for him and therefore, he feels that this America, which does not value their own people, should not be considered his country.

There was a particular section in the paragraph before which explains how the commander of Brooklyn’s North Borough increased police presence in Als’ neighborhood. He describes the situation by pointing out that politicians believe “one way to control unruly, ungovernable refugees, of course, is to remind them that they are guests of a mighty police state.” This sentence struck me because it relates to a section in my sociology class. Sociologist Victor Rios writes in his book, Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys, that aggressive policing strategies hurt communities; by increasing the police, young boys are more likely to get caught and as a result, be restricted from improving their situation due to their criminal records. This lack of consideration towards people in poor neighborhoods is what Als is referring to when he says the people in his neighborhood were treated as “guests of a mighty police state.” This quote emphasizes the unfair treatment of black Americans and the systemic racism that prevents black people from partaking in America’s supposed freedom.