Feeder 3.1

In the account by Horowitz's "Confederates in the South" and the film "O Brother Where Art Thou," the depiction of racial tensions in the deep south both in the present and past are seen. In the past there certainly was great tension between whites and blacks, yet not everyone had racial prejudice. In today's America, civil rights have been established and everyone is seen as equal as it states in the Declaration of Independence, but in various parts of our country, especially the South, one can find narrow-minded individuals that still have prejudices and racist tendencies. This shows that in America's history there has always been those with opinions that greatly contrast in their views about the equality of races. In the South since its beginnings to today's present state, there has been racism, but the concept of classes and social hierarchy has had little effect on racial tensions.

In the film "O Brother Where Art Thou," one can see just how little the idea of classes in America has with racial issues. The Cohen brothers although criminals welcome an African America man to join them in their journey and escape from prison even though at least two of the three are white. The young black man tells them of how he supposedly sold his soul to the devil for his ability to play the guitar. From this point the group records a song for a radio station together to make some money. Later on the Cohen brothers find themselves right in the midst of Ku Klux Klan meeting where they are planning to murder their African American friend who could play the guitar so well. The brothers from this point put themselves at risk by dressing up as members of the Klan and in process save the young boy. Another interesting thing occurs in the meeting of the Ku Klux Klan, the leader of the Klan is a man who is running for governor of his state. On his platform he talks about fighting for the little man and underprivledged by using a midget stand with him during his speech. He paints himself out to be a kind and compassionate man too when he has three little girls sing at his campaign event. This man, although obviously of the upper class and even running to be a political figure whose platform is for fighting for the little guy, leads the Klan in efforts to murder a black boy. The contrast between the two examples, the Cohen brothers and the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, reveal just how little class has to do with racial tensions. Just because someone is of the upper class and normally coming from a greater education does not necessarily mean that they will the smartest and best people. In these two examples from the film, it the criminals that reveal the best knowledge and ethics. Therefore it can be said that racial prejudice has little to with the social hierarchy found in America.

In Horowitz's account much to can be seen regarding the relationship between race and class. In Horowitz's depiction of the South, the reader is able to gain a strong perspective on just what life in the South is like today. He quickly finds himself in Salisbury, North Carolina among several whites that are extremely pro-confederate. They have meetings to remember the fallen soldiers for the South in the Civil War and have celebrations for events such as Robert E. Lee's birthday. On the night where they celebrated the fallen general they have trivial where everyone competes to impress the others with their knowledge on Confederate history. Other things demonstrated by these ones are houses covered in Confederate items and even a group that looks at famous cats in the Confederacy. These ones show great respect for the Confederacy yet they are quite obsessive and somewhat ridiculous. Yet strangely the class of these ones differs greatly. One man at the party is a doctor while there is also a janitor. There are ones from the middle, upper, and lower classes proving that racial prejudices occur regardless of a person's standing in the American classes.