Thrower 2
Taliyah Thrower
Dr. Tanya Jeffcoat
Intro to Fiction
26 March 2018
Rough Draft
After reading Derrick Bell’s “The Space Traders” I see it as a symbol because this story has hidden meaning behind it. The characters symbolize people of late twentieth-century racial politics. In Bell’s “The Space Traders” the politics of the United States United States revolves around anti-black thinking, and many white people believe that all the environmental and economic problems in the U.S. are due to people of color. Furthermore, "The Space Traders" comprehends Bell's concept of "the permanence of racism" in the Unites States. Bell believes that "the space trade" is somewhat familiar to the first African slave trade, and that these two events occur because of "the permanence of racism" in our society and the structures that allow this repetition to exist. In this essay I will discuss the political positions of the subjects in "The Space Traders" and the extent in which they personify late twentieth-century racial politics, and then analyze "the space trade" and comprehend it with Bell's belief in "the permanence of racism" in the United States.
In “The Space Traders” they have an African American in a “unofficial “political position in the president’s cabinet named Gleason Golightly. The president put him on his cabinet to show that they aren’t like racist and that they cared what he wanted to say. He was supposed to be like an advocate of some sort for the African American people but that’s not how it went. He was really only their so the decision wouldn’t make a big ruckus in the media. “Golightly was perceived as an Uncle Tom” (Bell 2), meaning he is seen as a betrayer of his race/thinks that “slavery” is just a part of society and sees nothing wrong with that whether he’s always been like that or he’s been brainwashed by his unofficial cabinet members. He admitted that he has went along with decisions the president made despite his people, he doesn’t really care about his people he agreed to strip away rights that could have possibly prevented the aliens from evening uttering a word about taking an entire race. Bell symbolizes Golightly to show him as twentieth century racial political relations, he does so because back in the twentieth century it was a time of continuity, when people of color continued to experience racism in all of its political, ideological, economic, and social forms. Also, he shows this because of his conservative like views for example the fact that he’s helping further the divide between the two races despite being a person of color himself. Along with the fact that he supported anti-black positions as in the people on the cabinet plus he never tried to get any of this fellow people of color on the cabinet to possibly even it out.
The aliens additionally play a role in symbolizing the twentieth century racial political relations that apparently existed in the later twentieth century. The aliens only came with demands they didn’t want to here what they were going to say they just wanted their wants to be heard and accomplished. They used president Ronald Reagan’s voice to their advantage because he was a former president but also because they think his voice would better get their needs met to the Americans. The aliens want all of the African Americans to come back with them in exchange for “: gold, to bail out the almost bankrupt federal, state, and local governments; special chemicals capable of unpolluting the environment, which was becoming daily more toxic, and restoring it to the pristine state it had been before Western explorers set foot on it; and a totally safe nuclear engine and fuel, to relieve the nation's all but-depleted supply of fossil fuel”(Bell 1). They had the answer to all of America’s problem. The alien’s actions mirrored those actions of capitalists due to that they are only interested in what they have to say and that they want their wants meet quickly no matter the backlash. The cabinet members are meant to personify people who are against people of color who don’t regard the bill of rights and it could be shown by a few different amendments that they shouldn’t be able to just take the African Americans away or them not have at least a say in it all. The cabinet also believes that with the trade America would be okay for a long time. Some of the cabinet the secretary of health and human services to be exact think that it’s the African Americans fault that American has ended up like it had. So, she was more than pleased to see them go because this meant that once the economy and everything else was fixed it would stay that way because the “problem” was gone and that they wouldn’t have to use money on “unnecessary things” the African Americans needed. The rest of the cabinet seemed to agree since in the end the accepted the aliens offer.
The Attorney General kind of tried to save some African Americans by suggesting the selective service act of 1918 but the aliens weren’t having that they wanted all or the deal was off. However how didn’t they see that the trade was under the constitution is beyond me like the fact that the Attorney General and the other cabinet members ignore the fundamental law(that every individual has rights) and are willing to let go of the an entire race without recognizing what will come of them, without even asking what they plan to do with them. Obviously shows that they have no deficiency of morals and that the extent to which political relations in the U. S. revolves around anti-black thought. The political positions of the characters enable us to find out to what extent in which racial political relations exists in this state and the text analyzes “the trade” and comprehends it with Bell’s construct of “the permanency of racism” in the United States. He was able to examine “the permanence of racism” because of the similarities between the past and present history in the United States. It’s said that Bell believed that the “trade” coincides with the first African slave trade and that racism has continued to exist since the 1920’s. The first African slave trade was also called the transatlantic slave trade and it happen in the 15th century 1526 to be exact. It’s similar because thy were getting taken against their will, but instead of it being aliens and a spaceship it was humans and ships. It’s also similar because back then it was rumored that they were taking them away for an unknown fate, just like in “The Space Traders” the president, the whole community had no idea what awaited the African Americans on the other side (PortCities).
The white house and congress began receiving many calls left and right from many forms of communication and the people were leaving their names “signing” that they think they trade should be followed through, with this it was obvious that anti-black thought was frequent in the white community. The fact that these people were so easily going along with this trade and the president going along with his past successors successfully exploiting that he would do this and that to get their votes plus he promised to have minority members on his cabinet. There had been obvious differences of actions for a lack of a better word regarding class but those amongst his cabinet their political actions sounded horrible they continuously tried to keep what the people of color had to say a secret in order to not scare away white politicians. They just wanted what was best for them and didn’t want them to be put of and to continue to join them in political positions. Them not wanting to hear what they have to say lead to them not caring where they were going and it’s also saying that they would go to any portions for this entire race. This act of unkindness towards this certain race just goes to shows us that things will never change, and that racism will continue to go on to in the American civilization. In addition to that they both displayed how barbarous the male species is.
However, I am curious how it would have turned out had it been any other race but specifically the white race. I know it wouldn’t have gone anything remotely similar to how it did and honestly it probably wouldn’t have even been considered they would have said no right away and ignored what anybody had to say about the subject. The fact that the offer was even considered was unconstitutional, but it simply reiterates the world that throughout American history people of color have always experienced some type of “hatred”. Professor Golightly was a symbol of this he showed his colors throughout his years on the cabinet. It’s like he forgot what his actual color was and started to show hatred to his own people. Even with the trade going he showed some type of remorse but that was only for his wife and children not the entire race. When they trade came about he said, “It is a grade of merely how far out of the mainstream black people are that this proposition is given any serious consideration…” (Bell 4). He was saying that like if they weren’t so common that they wouldn’t have chosen, or had they have been sick and zombielike they would have retreated as well. Bell’s construct of “the permanency of racism” in the U. S. is comprehended by “the trade “and by looking at “The Space Traders” as a fable we are able to understand that American is not about the equality of the people but about who has the power.
In “The Space Traders” there is a direct correlation between the abstract topics of late twentieth-century racial political relations and Bell’s construct of “the permanency of racism” in the United States. Bell’s ability to specifically relate the characters in “The Space Traders” allows us to see his belief that racism will forever be in America. Lastly, it is Bell’s belief that there will be forever be a color line will ever be in the U. S. between white and black topics. He also believes that this country’s overall construction is centered on the will of the white race.
Works Cited
“African-American Ideas – African-American Conservatism.” Black, Neoconservatives,
Conservatives, and Cultural – JRank Articles, science.jrank.org/pages/8210/African
American-Ideas-African-American-Conservatism.html.
Derrick Bell. “The Space Traders.” 1992.
“How Far Did Race Relations Change in the 1920s?” RGS History, 26 Sept. 2016,
rgshistory.wordpress.com/how-far-did-race-relations-change-during-the-1920s/.
“PortCities Bristol.” Bristol and Transatlantic Slavery | PortCities Bristol,
www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/.