Reflection on Travelling by Grace Paley
Racial segregation was a part of people’s lives for almost a century after the end of slavery. In 1896 Supreme Court passed a doctrine that allowed segregation in public facilities as long as these facilities were equal in quality. Even if white people had a contradictory opinion about that law, it was illegal for them to take any action, which only allowed segregation to continue.
Grace Paley tells two similar stories, which show her and her family’s view on this problem, and that they weren’t afraid to oppose. She offered to hold a child on her lap because she saw how exhausted his mother was. And even though people on the bus were openly judging her and were telling that they “wouldn’t of touched that thing (the baby) with a meat hook” (p. 43), Grace kept the baby on her lap.
