Remember The Titans And Notes Of A Native Son

4 Pages 906 Words

“What does it take to get some service?”

“Remember the Titans” is a movie about an African-American football coach that takes over as coach at an integrated but racially polarized high school. In several ways, a comparable work, “Notes of A Native Son,” is a story about a man and his father and their feelings towards white people. Both of these works show the relationship between white and black Americans and the feelings expressed towards one another. Anger and confusion are the two dominant emotions that characterize “Notes of A Native Son” and “Remember the Titans” which both portray the racism existent during that time.
A similar event portrayed in both works is one in which African Americans are not served by Caucasians. In “Notes of A Native Son” the author James tells about an incident during his last night in New Jersey. After being told “We don’t serve Negroes here” (Baldwin 5) at a New Jersey bar, the author travels into a fashionable restaurant where he knew he would not be served. After a very long time, a waitress approaches him filling him with emotion. “…and the moment she appeared all of my fury flowed towards her. I hated her for her white face, and for her great, astounded, frightened eyes” (Baldwin 58). For a second time, the author is told that Negroes aren’t served, but this time the waitress says it with a note of apology in her voice, and fear. His anger and frustration builds up making him feel “colder and more murderous than ever” (Baldwin 58) causing him to lash out on the waitress.
Similarly in “Remember the Titans” a white Titans player convinces a couple of his black teammates that it is ok to venture into a bar despite their beliefs that it is not a smart idea. The bar is filled with only white people, and even though there are empty tables, the owner tells the boys that “they are taken” and that they must leave. The black players take out their a...