Love and Acceptance

While reading the anthology Black Like Us and the intriguing novel Giovanni’s Room, many things caught my attention. Characters, villains and situations kept me wanting to read more. Two things that caught my attention the most were the characters and messages in these stories.

Among the diverse characters I encountered in the anthology Black Like Us, the character that stood out for me was Phelia from “Bird of Paradise” by Alexis DeVeax. The reason Phelia stood out from the rest of the characters was because she had a different response to her daughter’s sexuality than the other characters in the book. I admire he ability to see past her daughter’s lesbian label and accepts her for who she truly is. I liked that she was able to do this because most parents would have turned their back on their son or daughter and avoid the subject. Others think that homosexuality is an option and try to fix their son or daughter’s sexuality. I also enjoyed reading about her reaction because I thin kit was good to see a parent who approved and accepted her daughter’s sexuality. We often read about parents who disapprove and refuse to accept the facts and assume that all parents react this way. I believe Phelia serves as and example as to how parents can react to their child coming out. I like how she shows us that keeping an open mind is important in order to love. Another thing that stood out for me was the messages that most of the authors told us in their stories.

Out of all the messages the authors told us through their stories the one that captured my attention was the message of accepting and loving ourselves. I think this was the most important message I received from the stories because when we don’t love ourselves, we sometimes don’t allow others to love us as well. This message can be found in many the stories from Black Like Us but it’s mostly found throughout the book Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I believe that if David could have loved himself in his true skin he would have allowed Giovanni to love him as well. I really like this message because it appeals to heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. I think we can all learn from this book and the other stories to love ourselves. This is important because We need to appreciate who we are in order for others to appreciate us and accept us for who we are.

There are many things that I gained from reading Black Like Us and Giovanni’s Room but I liked the character of Phelia and the messages the most. I believe it is important to keep an open mind on people’s sexuality. We are not all the same, but that’s OK. With that, it is important to love ourselves in order for others to love us for who we are. I don’t keep an open mind or don’t love ourselves; we can potentially miss out on amazing people and experiences.