TOW #22- Non Fiction

When slavery was abolished over one hundred years ago, the remains of racism and racial tensions still exist to this day.  The series of columns "When Whites Just Don't Get It" are written by Nicolas Kristof, and argue the viewpoint of how whites simply do not understand what it is like to be a black person living in today's society.  Through his use of engaging style and facts, he is able to thoroughly convey his purpose of getting readers of the New York Times to understand how racism still exists and what it is like to be black. 

To start off the opinion piece, Kristof uses engaging style to hook the reader in, using an activity based question.  He states that when researchers sent out young black men and white men to find jobs in New York City, and they all had the same background, what would the outcomes be?  He then provides three answers, and as one could guess, the correct answer was that whites are twice as likely to get hired than blacks.  This gives the reader a new perspective of the real facts that support reasons as to why racism still exists, and Kristof employs more facts as he continues writing.

Continuing the subject of blacks and whites getting hired to the work force, Kristof states startling facts that engage the reader and provide new viewpoints and realizations as to how prevalent racism truly is in America.  When blacks and whites go to job interviews, "a black applicant with a clean criminal record does no better than a white applicant who was said to just have been released from prison 18 months ago." (Kristoff).  These facts are simply appaling, and open the readers eyes to the true racism in the world, and how whites simply "don't get it."

In an evolving world with potential for a bright future with peace and no discrimination, there is still lots of work to be done to end racism.  And Nicolas Kristof successfully provides a well said outlook on how "Whites Don't Get It," and how popular racism still is today.