The Race Beat is a phenomenal novel that explores the struggles of the African American society in the Unites States and the comparison of blacks versus whites in the nation. Not only does it discuss the comparison of those two racial groups but also other races outside of the nation. The book narrates behind Gunnar Myrdal, a Swedish economist and sociologist, that goes beyond and above to research the reasoning behind white frustration to blacks in the United States. This tells the story of a nation going to war to fight for a group of people that have been oppressed without realizing that the exact same situation is going down in their own country. It centers on the press realizing the hardships behind the civil rights movement and finally…show more content…

In the first chapter, it discusses how the country Sweden was invaded by Nazi Germany. Gunnar Myrdal travelled back home with his wife, Alva, to fight alongside their country not knowing that the government was making a compromise with the Nazis. The press was being overturned by the Nazis. Myrdal thought to himself that this sort of atrocity would never happen in America. Myrdal then wrote and published “Kontakt med Amerika” arguing that the Sweden people need to learn the tactics of democracy from the Americans. “Almost ass of America’s citizens, the Myrdals said, believed in free speech and a free press. Americans respected other viewpoints even when they strongly disagreed, As a result, diverse ethnic groups were living with one another in peace while Europe was tearing itself apart” (4). Myrdal had no idea what America was truly going through. In 1938, he visited the South in America. The scenery he felt was horrific and gruesome but somehow, he was fascinated at how the people could vindicate aroundracism as an ordinary lifestyle. He did not understand how anyone with morals could allow such inhumane actions to others exist for so many years. Seeing that back in his home country, no one could report the news in Sweden that maybe he had a chance to do the same in America. America have free press and free speech which meant he…show more content…

However, a new concept was in place – the Brown v Board of Education decision. Citizens feared the court would rule complete desegregation in the South. When the decision of ending desegregation in public and private schools, many southern politicians did not stand with the idea. Many newspapers and reporters took charge to cover stories behind the decision and the south’s reaction. Newspapers, magazines, journalists, and reporters chased after many accounts dealing withrace. Everyone wanted a story about racial conflicts in the southern states which soon became the race beat. One of the biggest race story that everyone wanted to get their hands on was the Emmett Till case. The case brought together the Negro press as a whole that gave them a chance to be a part of the white man’s courtroom. Also, it gave the white press a chance of being a part of the Deep South. What have happened to Emmett Till gave the northerners a view of the horrific outcomes of theAfrican American people. This, along with other numerous accounts, created a path for the black press to receive the rights they deserved. Myrdal, the observer that he is, knew how the black press was ready to change the nation tremendously. Autherine Lucy was a black woman that have tried numerously to get enrolled into the University of Alabama and eventually was accepted. Most people did not like the idea of a black woman attending a school with