Reyita
Unit 2 assessment Task 2 – REYITA
The personal is political
Reyita made many important decisions in her life, she made both decisions for herself and her family, but she sometimes had to compromise to please society. I’ve chosen to write around why Reyita decided to marry a black man.
Reyita grew up in Cuba and was the darkest coloured child of a mixed race woman. Reyita suffered discrimination in many ways, because she was poor, black and also just because she was a woman. Reyita retells and explains many interesting stories from her past, she also writes about hard decisions she had to make. Early on in her life she decides she would rather marry a white man, than someone dark like her.
Reyita was very proud of her colour, even after years and years of being treated differently because of it. Even her own mother and other family members discriminated against her. Throughout her entire life Reyita managed to earn a living, despite never having the privilege of an education or the fact that she was never employed. That was most probably because of her colour as well. It was also the simple fact that she was a woman. Back then women were suppressed not only by society but by their husbands as well.
In 1923 Reyita married Rubiera, a white man. She did this knowing that it was the best option for her future children. Reyita knew it would “improve her race”. This meant that her children would have a better chance at a good life. Reyita had to face so many difficulties as a poor black woman. And her only concern was to try and minimize the difficulties for her children.
Reyita said “ I didn’t want a black husband, not out of contempt for my race, but because black men had almost no possibilities of getting ahead and the certainty of facing a lot of discrimination.”
Reyita explains how a black mans best or even only chance was in sports, especially boxing. It was almost impossible for black men to escape poverty at that time.
Black women had also little
The personal is political
Reyita made many important decisions in her life, she made both decisions for herself and her family, but she sometimes had to compromise to please society. I’ve chosen to write around why Reyita decided to marry a black man.
Reyita grew up in Cuba and was the darkest coloured child of a mixed race woman. Reyita suffered discrimination in many ways, because she was poor, black and also just because she was a woman. Reyita retells and explains many interesting stories from her past, she also writes about hard decisions she had to make. Early on in her life she decides she would rather marry a white man, than someone dark like her.
Reyita was very proud of her colour, even after years and years of being treated differently because of it. Even her own mother and other family members discriminated against her. Throughout her entire life Reyita managed to earn a living, despite never having the privilege of an education or the fact that she was never employed. That was most probably because of her colour as well. It was also the simple fact that she was a woman. Back then women were suppressed not only by society but by their husbands as well.
In 1923 Reyita married Rubiera, a white man. She did this knowing that it was the best option for her future children. Reyita knew it would “improve her race”. This meant that her children would have a better chance at a good life. Reyita had to face so many difficulties as a poor black woman. And her only concern was to try and minimize the difficulties for her children.
Reyita said “ I didn’t want a black husband, not out of contempt for my race, but because black men had almost no possibilities of getting ahead and the certainty of facing a lot of discrimination.”
Reyita explains how a black mans best or even only chance was in sports, especially boxing. It was almost impossible for black men to escape poverty at that time.
Black women had also little