Kindred

An analysis of Octavia E. Butler's "time traveling" novel

At least once a week, I walk past this monument and into the public library to wait for my son to finish his math tutoring session. The text describes the “racial terror lynchings of African Americans by white mobs” and how they “created a legacy of violence.” Five of these lynchings happened in the county where I reside, starting in 1875, a century before I was born. This monument holds each name of those who were killed by racists.  The last sentence states, “Memorializing these victims reminds us to remain persistent in the pursuit of justice for all” (2019, Equal Justice Initiative, Connecting the Dots).  

Certainly, there are several feelings that well up when I read it, but a monument, by definition, is a stone, structure, or building used to keep the memory of a person or an event alive. It’s not just there to make someone feel sad or angry; its purpose is to change the vision of the person whose eyes rest on it.  A monument should cause you to remember and reflect. In my case, …