Non-Fiction Response: "Crossing the Racial Divide" by Lydia Polgreen

The main idea of Crossing the Racial Divide By Lydia Polgreen is racism and poverty. This article focuses on a white family who moved into a black township to experience their way of life. This white family went from a comfortable home outside of Pretoria, into a 100-square-foot shack with no electricity or running water. When the family first entered the town, many were surprised. ““I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Matshega says. “What are white people doing here”” said one woman. According to Julian Hewitt, father and husband of the white family said “It is one thing to know from an academic perspective what divides us. But what is it like to actually live it?”.

          Based on the article, it said “They all slept on a pile of mattresses on the floor in the 1^st week, the entire family had the flu”. This part of the article showed me how others take their lives for granted while others suffer to survive. People are living in their own worlds, and don’t imagine how others are struggling. “There is a real sense of community, where people rely on each other and take care of each other, that is something that we don’t have enough of back home” says Ena Hewitt. I think the author included this quote in the article because it shows how different people’s lives are. Where the Hewitt family comes from, everyone is independent and only care for themselves and their families. However, in the black township that they were in, families and friends were true help to each other. They cared and helped other families when needed. “I think it’s a wonderful thing, we all need to understand each other better” said Vusi Mahlasela. People still judge others by their appearance and not as a person. We are all human beings, and it’s time we treat each other like it.

          “It’s very simple. We’re doing it for ourselves. We’re doing it to change ourselves” replied Julian Hewitt, when asked why his family decided to live in a shack instead. It was about time people started to make change. People, everywhere around the world shouldn't let history repeat itself. Human rights and equality was fought for so everyone was to feel and be untied. While most of us have food and water every day, many struggle to do the same. It doesn’t matter how you look, or where you come from. We are all human beings and we should all help and act the same way towards each other. This article showed me a glance of the struggles people have to go through to live. Think about how lucky you are to have food, water, electronics, etc., because others would kill to have the lives we take for granted.