Colin Hayes
EN.387.01
Dr. Juniper Ellis
20 March 2018
Brown Girl Dreaming
Jaqueline Woodson’s story, Brown Girl Dreaming presents a first-hand account of the continuation of racism and discrimination long after the abolishment of racism. In relation to time, Woodson’s story is a narrative that supports the notion that time does not heal all wounds through her constant discrimination in the American South. Another interesting point that Woodson develops is the importance of memory and how without it she would not have been able to create her story and come to the realization that she is a writer.
The trials and tribulations of Woodson’s life are exemplary of what life for an African American in the south was truly like post abolishment of slavery. The civil rights movement would soon be a major battle to be fought in the United States and Woodson was coming of age in the midst of a nation changing historical movement. Despite the fact that the nation would engage in this fight for equal rights, it is crucial to note the telling nature of this event. Our country had thankfully abolished the animalistic treatment of African Americans yet it seemed the only thing that had changed was that they were no longer owned. . She writes, “"I am born as the South explodes, too many people too many years enslaved, then emancipated but not free” (Woodson 1). Cruel and unjust discrimination towards people of color was rampant and Woodson shows through her life experiences that time had not changed the state of her life, and more time would be needed to see a true change in her life.
Time also presents itself in Woodson’s gratitude for the gift of memory. Without her memory, it would not have been possible to paint the pictures of her life through the vehicle of words. Her vivid memories in the past are what have shaped her to be the woman that she is while writing the novel. Woodson begin the final stages of her book by writing of the aspects of her life that she is thankful for. She writes, “I am thankful for my memory” (Woodson 327). For a writer like Woodson, memory is the essential ingredient for the recreation of her life in words, but memory is a universal gift that is appreciated by all people. Without our memories, we can no longer transport ourselves back in time to past experiences that have brought us grief, ecstasy, and a multitude of other feelings. In the absence of memory our growth and progress will remain stagnant for we are no longer able to reflect on our past to make a better change for the present and hopefully the future as well.
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