Black & White Presentation
Transcript: Two best friends and teammates, Eddie (white) and Marcus (black) decide to rob to get money. It goes well until Marcus accidently shoots the man they're robbing. Marcus is arrested while the Eddie remains free, unassociated with the murder. Marcus refuses to identify his partner and ultimately ends up spending time in jail, leaving Eddie home free. It expresses the racial flaws that exist within the Urban court system, in which black teens are treated far more severely than white teens. With the expression of the racist treatment of black people in the court system, it is complimented with the racial attitudes that insue in the streets. After Eddie doesn't confess, allowing Marcus to take the entire wrap (thus giving him a worse punishment) the basketball team turns on him. And race becomes an issue again. Black and White was successful because it had well developed characters, especially when it comes to Eddie and Marcus. We experienced their struggles through their eyes as we saw these boys go from local basketball heroes to criminals and how that effected every area of their life; family, school, friends, and each other. The audience grows as the characters grow, this causes them to connect with the characters and makes the book feel real. THemes A clear theme in Black and White is injustice, specifically relating to the treatment of black people versus the treatment of white people in the judicial system. Here's an example "We wouldn't want anyone whose ever been robbed for one. We wouldn't even want anyone who've had trouble with high school kids in their neighborhood," Golub said."and of course, we'd want more whites on the jury then blacks." (Volponi 178) Friendship was also a very prevalent theme in the story. It was demonstrated mainly through Eddie and Marcus's relationship. Eddie states, "Kids who are different colors don't get to be all that tight in my neighborhood. But we get past all that racial crap,"(Volponi 2) The final, and most prevalent theme, is racism. As the story unfolds we notice racist attitudes emerge from within the basketball team as well as within the courts. At one point when Eddie and his teammates are discussing the case, a friend "X" says, "The only thing in your favor is the dude who got shot is black. Maybe the judge wont give a damn unless the judge is black too." (Volponi 78) Racism Injustice Setting Black and White takes place in Rikers Island, New York. Rikers Island is a very segregated section of New York and know for it's penitentiary located on the island. Long Island City high school is the school both Marcus and Eddy attend. The student population is very diverse and there are both black & white students who come from very different backgrounds. Black and White Summary: Characters Friendship
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