Travelling by Grace Paley uses anecdotes to provide an often overlooked perspective to the segregation and racism that she witnessed in her time. What made this excerpt different from many other personal stories of the racism that occurred in the early 20th century, is that it came from someone who was not a victim but an empathetic bystander who recognized a system of oppresion. When Paley recalls the black mother on the bus, she humanizes her with emotion invoking descriptions of the child that hung at her neck. It was her recognition of this woman as a mother, as Paley hoped to be one day, that created a sense of empathy and understanding for her. Reading this, I was saddened by the idea that a mother and her child could be treated as less than human, especially knowing this racist and unjust attitude still influences people today. But I was relieved at Paley’s determination to help them out, despite possible reprimands. This story was bittersweet in that it showed Paley fighting hate with love, but illustrated only a minor struggle of the many hardships that were faced by oppressed African Americans at the time.
