Heads of the colored people

In the text Heads of the colored people by Nafissa Thompson Spires, a formal textual element visible was when the journal was showing a picture of Riley with cornrows at a throwback party, as well as a mugshot of Brother Man explaining a crime he committed five years ago after their death. Riley’s mother and girlfriend had to explain that he wasn’t dressing as a thug, but as Justin Timberlake. I believe that it represents well the idea of having a misconception of people,prejudices, and racisms. In fact, throughout the entire reading, characters already had their idea of a person based on their looks. An example is when Paris met Riley at the convention, Riley almost thought she was a “gravedigger”, and then he started to introduce her as his girlfriend. 

I agree that with this textual evidence, the author is in position to demonstrate the prejudices made against black people, but also between them as well as racism. A passage in the text that proves my point is when some people didn’t want Paris and Riley dressed as nonblack characters, even though Riley liked “white things”. We see that happen especially during Halloween, where black people tend to match a costume with their skin colors unintentionally. Moreover, after the death of Riley due to the violent altercation , the journal put a picture of him dressed as a “thug” to make him look bad in front of the public, however his mom and girlfriend had to explain that it was just at a party and he was dressed as Justin Timberlake. It’s something that happens way too frequently with black people. Often, people outside of a community of minority have judgements without getting to know that community. The journalist who wrote this article on Riley’s death probably ignored that he was studying engineering, which means he was a brilliant student ( I study in engineering too, so I know what it takes). The journalist automatically interpreted him as a “thug” or “gang” member because a black man was found dead after a violent altercation.