Reading “A Lesson before Dying” provoked some rather stirring emotions within me, in part, because of personal experiences growing up in a “segregated” Chicago during the 60’s and 70’s. I am well aware of the mindset that casually referred to Black people as less than human. Unfortunately, there are still a few people even today that think this way. As a Black man I must say that anger and hurt fills me when I read and see movies of this type; I often wondered why, why us? My grandmother, who was born in Alexandria, Louisiana in the early 1900’s, would often tell us about the hardships that her parents experienced. As in the story, she said that it was the norm to hear derogatory attributes and remarks directed at