Prejudice And Racism In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

The 1950s and 60s were turbulent times for African-Americans. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” reveals the nearly impossible task to grow up as a black male in Harlem, but also escape the reality of life back then filled with drugs, violence, and racism. In result, the use of music is the key to freedom, not drugs. The two main characters are Sonny and his older brother, the narrator. The narrator is the usual everyday man, he has a wife and two sons, he makes a living by being a high school algebra teacher in Harlem. Sonny the main character is a struggling jazz musician who finds himself in the dark streets of Harlem which leads him to the long-time heroin addiction. Sonny finds that heroin and jazz are his light in a dark room while he tries to break free from reality.

“Sonny’s Blues” takes place during the mid 20th century. This is the time of the Civil Rights Movement where things like segregation and racism were a huge problem, which caused living a normal or safe life nearly impossible. Sonny grew up in a predominately black and poor to low-class neighborhood in Harlem. The old projects are the result of segregationist housing policies, the limited opportunities available to the people, the result of discrimination. The narrator explains he will inherit the darkness that haunts his parents. The depiction of racism becomes clear
The Harlem Renaissance created a place for “streams of black writers, musicians, performers and film-makers, a refuge from the all racism of American society” (Stuart 40). Harlem became a place separate from society where people were free to do as they pleased which allowed for creative art in the forms of writing, poetry, paintings, and music to flourish; however it also gave life to drug use, sexual adventure, and