Alchemy of Race

A detailed Summary of Alchemy of Race

In The Alchemy of Race and Riots an argument takes place between a Jewish student and a black student at Stanford University. They argue about the identity of Beethoven, the black student stating that Beethoven had black heritage while the white student found that idea to be preposterous. Clearly this upset the black student, who is given the name "Q.C." Q.C. is angered by the fact that the white student is unwilling to believe that such a highly distinguished and honored composer such as Beethoven could have black roots.

To anger the black student even more, the white student, "Fred," colored a picture of Beethoven black and wrote the word "nigger" on the black fraternity poster. Fred defended his actions by saying he was "upset by all this emphasis on race, on blackness. Why can't we just all be human - I think it denies one's humanity to be racial" (111).

Fred further defended his actions by saying that what he did was meant to be humorous. As a German Jew Fred received teasing from his schoolmates about his being Jewish. Fred said that he learned to tolerate his classmate's behavior and his defacing of the poster was in the spirit of what he had learned. He wondered "why the black students couldn

The Stanford case also shows the government's treatment of blacks, relating to the history of African Americans. Although on a smaller scale, Stanford is representative of the injustices blacks have suffered from the government. From the time of slavery, to voting rights, to affirmative action, no responsibility has been taken on by the American government to amend these woes. Just as in the case of Fred, the school has defended his right of freedom of speech and belittled the situation, instead of protecting the rights of Q.C. I know that if the tables were turned and the black student had made that type of derogatory statement to a white fraternity, punishment would have been swift and hard on Q.C., and my children would learn about it when they enter grade school.

As far as the controversy is concerned, I am in agreement with Williams. The defacing of the poster and coloring of the picture shows a generalization made by the white student. It shows his negativity towards blacks and his belief in black inferiority. Williams argues that blacks are always labeled "the first of their kind" to achieve something. However, this is not the case.

Patricia Williams, the author, takes

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Approximate Word count = 806
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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