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Hayes tackles important subject matters in his memoir, such as racism, discrimination, and prejudice. He relates key points of his life from the sixties to now. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and experienced racism at a very young age. For instance, when he was enrolled at a Catholic high school, his history teacher would make racist comments toward him. During his time in high school, he could not wait to join the United States Marine Corps to escape racism. Alas, when he finally got into the Corps, he was disappointed. It was not like he expected it. He realized he could not escape racism. Despite how society treated Hayes throughout his life, he would always fight back. When he set goals in his mind, he never gave up.
The author draws an interesting parallel between how the Corps treated him and how Congress treated Barack Obama when he was president. Indeed, Hayes candidly reveals how a sergeant nearly killed him while in boot camp during his time in the service. With poignant honesty, the author recounts that during this moment of pain, he felt that the Corps had abandoned him because they turned a blind eye to his attempted murder. In comparison, Congress disrespected Obama when he was in office and refused to work with him to fight the economic recession. They were more inclined to try to get the president out of the White House. The author doesn’t shirk from exposing the harsh truths about how blacks are still being treated. He also expresses concerns that not voting can result in the wrong people being elected to high-ranking government positions.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review