Start by reading and following these instructions: 1. Quickly skim the questions or assignments below and the assignment rubric to help you focus. 2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and a
See another argum ent on race by John McW horter, this tim e on w hat it m eans w hen w e say som eone“sounds black” or “sounds w hite.”
LINK TO McW horter, “Thick of Tongue,” in Chapter 25
— John M cW horter, “Spike Lee’s R acism Isn’t Cute”
W hen you encounter explicit charges like these, you analyze w hether and how the claim s
are supported by good reasons and reliable evidence. A lengthy essay m ay, in fact, contain
a series of claim s, each developed to support an even larger point. H ere’s M cW horter, for
instance, expanding his argum ent by suggesting that Lee’s attitudes tow ard w hites are
irreconcilable.
“R espect the culture” w hen you m ove in, Lee grow ls. B ut again, he isn’t m aking
sense. W e can be quite sure that if w hites “respected” the culture by trying to
participate in it, Lee w ould be one of the first in line to call it “appropriation.” So,
no w hites better open up barbecue joints or spoken w ord cafes or try to be rappers.
Yet if w hites w alk on by the culture in “respectful” silence, then the w ord on the
street becom es that they w ant to keep blacks at a distance.
