An Investigation of Race Relations: Other Side of the River
Alex Kotlowitz’s book, The Other Side of the River, is a journalist’s investigation of the death of Eric McGinnis, a Michigan black youth of 16 years. His body was found in the river that separates the poor black town of Benton Harbor from the wealthy white town of St. Joseph. While the motive and explanation of Eric’s death are left unresolved, each of the “Twin Cities” argue their beliefs of cause, fact and racial discrimination are both questionable.
Reading The Other Side of the River might enlarge a white person’s perspective of the unofficial discrimination and segregation that still continues in the United States. A white person, especially living in a generally wealthy suburb like Summit, never confronted with