It is clear from reading the article “Jean Toomer’s Conflicted Racial Identity” that Jean Toomer’s racial identity was something that he struggled with his entire life, which eventually bled into his professional life and in his work. It shines a light onto an issue that many people all around the world deal with, not just those who identify (or don’t identify) as black when the world perceives them this way.
This identity, whether or not a person is struggling with it, is bound to shape them as a person and shape their work, as well. Because self-identification is a concept that exists, the way we see ourselves creates a bias for the way we see the rest of the world. As a white person, we may not struggle at all with our identities, considering the history of white people has been very straightforward without any repercussions happening to our ancestors. But this is a different story for people of color, those of color who have had devastating histories just because of their race and identity. Because of this, some people of color may be hesitant to accept this identity and want to adopt a different one.
I think that this hesitancy would most certainly bleed into the work of those who struggle with their racial identity. Or, it could be the opposite- a person of color may embrace their racial identity and the culture that comes with it in their work. Whether accepting or rejecting, the racial identity of a writer will show in their work, one way or another- whether the writer wants to embrace their identity in their work or wants to ignore it.
I think that because we all have our own identities, while reading a piece of literature that stems from a writer with a different identity, we may not understand the full meaning of the work that’s in front of us. For example, a piece of literature written by a person of color may not be fully absorbed and understood by a white reader, no matter if that writer is wanting to embrace their identity or reject it- either choice impacts the work in a way that this reader may not understand. Our own personal identities may also impact the things we look for in a piece of literature, so we may be looking for something familiar that may or may not be there, impacting the way we read.
sydney poynter 