"In Utah, I found poker; in Idaho, I found guns; in Georgia, I found God".
- Rich Benjamin
- Rich Benjamin
Rich Benjamin’s presentation, “My road trip through the whitest towns in America”, describes his experience of temporarily living in what he calls “Whitopias”. Benjamin defines a Whitopia as a place with “at least six percent population growth since 2000” where the “majority of that growth comes from white migrants” and has “an ineffable charm, a pleasant look and feel”. His overall presentation depicts the increasing racial separation in America, and the dangers that have result from it. The speaker uses ethos by recounting his time at three of these towns, where he stayed in houses similar to those of other residents, and interacted with them through their most popular hobbies, such as poker and golf, in order to understand their personal views and beliefs. He uses logos several times throughout the speech in order to lay the foundation of his claims. For example, Benjamin describes his motivation behind studying the migration to these mostly white towns when he states that “By 2042, white people will no longer be the American majority. As such, will there be more Whitopias? In looking at this, the danger of Whitopia is that the more segregation we have, the less we can look at and confront conscious and unconscious bias”. Although he is discussing a serious topic about racial separation, the speaker mostly relies on pathos by using humor to keep the audience entertained while still emphasizing his points. For instance, Benjamin recounts the preparation for his visit in the first town by stating that “I rented a home at the Entrada, one of the town's premier gated communities. There were no Motel 6's or Howard Johnsons for me. I lived in Whitopia as a resident, and not like a visitor. I rented myself this home by phone”. Here he uses humor to allude to the racial discrimination he expected to face if the proprietor was aware of his race. The speaker does many things well in his presentation, such as keeping his material humorous even though the subject is quite serious.
“My road trip through the whitest towns in America” relates to Wole Soyinka’s poem, “Telephone Conversation”, because in both pieces, a black man faces racial discrimination related to renting a place to live. In the poem, the narrator feels the need to disclose his race with a prospective landlady over the phone because he does not want to waste a trip. While Rich Benjamin’s anecdote about having to secure places to stay over the phone in a similar manner is not the speaker’s main point, it does illustrate the perpetual racism towards black people in America. The presentation also relates to Calvin A. Ramsey’s book, Ruth and the Green Book, because the book describes racial prejudice in a time of segregation. In the book, Ruth and her family drive from Chicago to Alabama to visit family. Along the way Ruth’s family discovered a book that helped black people travel safely with a list of all of the places that would treat them fairly. This relates to the speech because of the prejudice and biases experienced by the characters in the book.
Benjamin illustrates American values by expressing the need for equality between black and white people. He also describes the potential biases that are inevitably formed when two races are separated. The speech connects to the American Dream when Benjamin alludes to the need for pursuing equality throughout the country. The presentation depicts how America fits in the world by emphasising the country’s inabilities to contribute to an equal and diverse society. The speech displays the Global Dream by suggesting the need for basic human rights to be applied to all, and the need for no racial separation.
“My road trip through the whitest towns in America” relates to Wole Soyinka’s poem, “Telephone Conversation”, because in both pieces, a black man faces racial discrimination related to renting a place to live. In the poem, the narrator feels the need to disclose his race with a prospective landlady over the phone because he does not want to waste a trip. While Rich Benjamin’s anecdote about having to secure places to stay over the phone in a similar manner is not the speaker’s main point, it does illustrate the perpetual racism towards black people in America. The presentation also relates to Calvin A. Ramsey’s book, Ruth and the Green Book, because the book describes racial prejudice in a time of segregation. In the book, Ruth and her family drive from Chicago to Alabama to visit family. Along the way Ruth’s family discovered a book that helped black people travel safely with a list of all of the places that would treat them fairly. This relates to the speech because of the prejudice and biases experienced by the characters in the book.
Benjamin illustrates American values by expressing the need for equality between black and white people. He also describes the potential biases that are inevitably formed when two races are separated. The speech connects to the American Dream when Benjamin alludes to the need for pursuing equality throughout the country. The presentation depicts how America fits in the world by emphasising the country’s inabilities to contribute to an equal and diverse society. The speech displays the Global Dream by suggesting the need for basic human rights to be applied to all, and the need for no racial separation.
Author's Notes
Rich Benjamin's TED Talk offered a humorous, yet inspiring, message about the increasing racial separation in America, and the dangers that result from it. From his presentation, I learned that it is important to should strive for equality and acceptance as a whole, and create an environment where we can coexist with one another.