On the Coming of John & Ted Talk

 On the Coming of John & Ted Talk

The dangers of a single story in Chimamande Adichie’s Ted Talk is that relying on one narrative can lead to negative stereotypes of a group of people. When people are only exposed to one story, they believe the whole of that group is represented by that one story. Oftentimes that story can be negative, and lead people to believe false things about a culture. It also doesn’t capture the diversity of a group of people. It doesn’t show the different human experiences people have, instead it only focuses on one experience or identity of that group. 

Nkali is loosely translated as “to be greater than another”. This world explains how people with greater power tell stories to shape people’s perception of what really happened. They’re able to twist the story to emphasize what they want people to know, and hide the things that will make them look bad. Those people can make their side of the story dominate while the other is diminished. This can lead to stereotyping and associating one identity to a group of people. Chimamande Adichie talks about how people reading one novel about a culture lead to them believing that that’s how everyone in that culture behaves. She points out how she read an American novel about a serial killer but would never believe that all Americans are killers. That is because there are so many novels about America, and it is not just one single story. This is why only telling a single story about a culture leads to stereotyping and a narrow view on that culture. 

I believe the most important idea of this talk is that we should never only look at a culture from a lense of one story. A lot of the time the story doesn’t do the culture justice, and doesn’t portray the different and unique aspects of it. No single story can capture the individuality and complexity of a culture. When people in power tell stories from a specific perspective that benefits them, it can lead to misinterpretations and disempowerment. This is unfair to the culture being diminished because their story isn’t being told correctly. We should always seek multiple perspectives and stories in order to fully understand the human experience. 

Part 2

In the story “Of the coming of John” there were two men named John that were from Altamaha. They both went to school and got an education. The story highlights the racial injustices and unfair treatment that black people face. When John Jones spends time in the north, he is exposed to ideas of equality and he is filled with optimism. He wants to make a change in the lives of people in the south. He wants to teach black youth and vouch for equality. That is very quickly shut down by those who don’t want to see black people succeed. John Jones continuously faces racism even after getting an education to be respected. John Henderson was a white man with the privilege to do anything he pleased. He was threatened by Jones’ education and determination. He continuously got in the way of change for the black community and wanted traditional racism to prevail. Because he is white and prevailed, he sees no issue of the oppression of the black community.

I think W.E.B Dubois chose to use a fictional story to prove that no matter how equal the playing field is for two people, racism will still get the best of them. He made the characters have the same name and background, but they were two different races. By doing this, it really emphasizes the hardships and unfair treatment black people receive just because of the color of their skin. John Jones’ life was faced with many more challenges than Henderson because of his race. Even though Jones had an education and was qualified to be trusted to make change, the people wouldn’t let him because of their racist views. By using fictional characters with very similar backgrounds, the author was able to capture the effects racism has on people.

            I believe after John Jones got an education he viewed life differently. Before his schooling, he was much more careless and immature, but he started to become more responsible after getting suspended. I think that was the push he needed to become the best version of himself. After getting an education, I think he expected to be respected and trusted to make change. He was exposed to equality in the north which inspired him to bring that idea to the south. I believe it made him view life in a new way, and that racism doesn’t have to be the way people in the south live forever. That’s what made him realize he needed to make that change. I believe education can change a person on a deeper level. It can increase their confidence and give them credibility when it comes to real life problems. It gives the critical thinking skills to make changes in people's lives for the better. It gives a sense of maturity and responsibility that makes a person a better version of themselves. 

In Chimamande Adichie’s Ted Talk she explains how people get stereotyped as one thing because of single stories. I believe that is shown in the story “Of the Coming of John”. People refuse to believe that a black man can make change or have a voice because of what they have been taught. They believe in white supremacy which led to black people being stereotyped as incompetent. I personally believe that black people have just as much of an impact as white people do, and that they should be able to share their ideas. Chimamande Adichie shared her stories about how she was always called an African, and people don’t hold that name to the highest of standards. That shows the stereotypes associated with black people and how it affects their lives.   

            According to the article “Jim Crow Laws” on the website pbs.org, Jim Crow laws were passed in the early 1890s. These laws forced the segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants. It was supposed to be “separate but equal” but that wasn’t the case. The white areas had better funding and resources. There was no way to separate the races but keep everything fair, and this led to racial discrimination and hardship. Black people felt humiliated and inferior because they couldn’t use the same facilities as white people. It was dehumanizing. Black people were faced with insults and harassment. Their lives could not compare to the lives of white people because of how excluded they were. Black schools had much less funding than white schools which led to black students getting a lower level of education. Overall, black people faced many hardships and difficulties as a result of Jim Crow Laws and the idea of white supremacy.