TOW #16: Race in America

       Inspired by recent debates filling American life regarding the idea of racial prejudice within the United States, writer Matt Leran began his article series, Race in America. Written exclusively for the opinion pages of the New York Times, Race in America is an exploration into the "identity of America" through the lens of its actual citizens. This series is particularly insightful in that it utilizes the stories and experiences of actual American people to paint its narrative about what America is truly like -- for all people. The stories within its pages do an exceptional job of describing not just the events that people have experienced in this country, but the rather, who is experiencing them, driving home the point that this truly is not a dividing subject about different races, but a unifying one about joint human experience. Not to discredit its as an informative piece, however, as it does provide a good deal of knowledge on a topic that many who are not directly related to are not aware of. Of course, this used of anecdotal structure is what holds this piece together and also what makes it most successful as it adds to both its appeals to ethos and especially to pathos.
      What makes this article series different from any other piece looking into the racial divide in America is, as I mentioned before, its use of stories to describe its message. Whether it be from Maya McCoy about her conversation to her black son, or Josh Frias about growing up being told by his white parents that racism doesn't exist, this article presents a myriad of experiences from all different perspectives on the issue. What this brings to the article is a greater level of ethos for connecting to the American people, it isn't just a writer telling you what is going on in America, it is people describing there personal experiences within it. It also brings success in its appeals to pathos for the same reason. Having real people describe what its like believing that "race definitely factored into how one participated in school" or that is truly "isolated one from their peers" brings an emotional pull that is unparalleled by mere statements of racism in America. This makes the article stand apart and, consequently, be extremely successful in doing what it sets out to achieve.