Racism

The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams (1943)

The Glass menagerie is about a girl named Laura whose family is trying to find her a gentleman caller. Her mother Amanda is always boosting about her 17 gentleman callers she had when she was younger. Amanda’s son Tom works at a shoe factory supporting for the family. Tom is not very happy when his mother brags about men. Later in the play, Amanda questions Laura about a boy she likes. Laura tells her the boy she likes is Jim O’Conner and she liked him since grade school. Amanda tells Tom to invite a gentleman caller for Laura. Upon Tom’s return, he tells his mom Amanda that he has invited Jim O’Conner to dinner. Amanda and Laura get excited. The next day both Amanda and Laura are hard working on dinner preparations and get dressed for dinner. Later that day after dinner, Laura and Jim are left alone to talk. Jim accidently breaks Laura’s unicorn which Laura doesn’t mind the accident. Jim kisses Laura then apologizes for the act. He tells Laura that he did not intend to kiss her and that he was already engaged. Laura is devastated and fights with Tom for not telling her that Jim was engaged. Tom was not aware of his engagement and he leaves never to return.


This is the glass unicorn whose horn was broken by Jim O'Connor



Tennessee Williams was a brilliant man. He wrote honestly and didn’t care what other thought about him. In his play The Glass Menagerie, he writes about the African American family living in the United States and the struggles they go through to make it in life. Writing a play about a black family in the 40’s was not popular, he did it anyways and help to upstart the black culture into light in America.

Spinning Into Butter written by Rebecca Gilman (1999)

The play takes place at Belmont College, Vermont. The College is predominantly white. A black student, Simon Brick goes to Sarah Daniels, Dean of Students about a hate note that he had received. She immediately lets the administration know about it. Some students want to form a forum called Students for Tolerance. After a few meetings, the notes keep coming to Simon. Sarah is told to write a 10 point plan to eliminate racism at Belmont. She stays late one day to work on this task when Ross, a professor at the college walks in to talk to Sarah, in which Sarah is very upset and starts with racial remarks. We find out later that Sarah is not so fond of blacks. She tells Ross that before working at Belmont, she worked at a Lancaster, mostly black college. She says blacks are lazy, stupid, scary, loud, belligerent, abusive, and rude. Sarah also finds hate notes in her notebook. Sarah later learns that Simon had been writing those hate notes to himself. Sarah gives her resignationfrom the college and Simon is expelled from the college.



This is Sarah Daniels notebook where the hate crimes were written in Spinning Into Butter.







Racism continues to be a problem in our country and throughout the world. There are some people that are racist and there are other people that don’t know they are racist. This play, although controversial, brings to light the realities of society.


This is the box Sarah Daniels used to pack the belongings of her office after she gave her resignation to the school.