Thoughts on Urrea in Relation to Loewen

I am finding Six Kinds of Sky a very interesting read, different from anything I have encountered thus far. Urrea is not afraid to make use of graphic and crude language (ex. Spanish curse words, vivid descriptions of death) to either 1) get his point across or 2) to present a reality that many Americans may not be familiar with. I think Urrea is trying to show the very thing Loewen desires to see. In his stories, Urrea is giving intimate perspectives from ethnic "minority" characters such as Don Her Many Horses, Henry Garcia, and Doña Juana that break into that hidden reality Loewen talks about concerning how white America's ethnocentric views have prejudiced history. Urrea may not delve so much into the racism aspect, but he does present clear pictures of the lives of different ethnic peoples.

This underlying racism in a country that prides itself on its freedoms and ability to be a "melting pot" for so many people groups is horrific. We really are doomed to repeat the ignorances and blatant racist blunders if more people do not heed the words of people like Alexie and Urrea. Knowledge is power. I agree with Emily B., education is what we really need. I think that is the point Loewen has been trying to make all along in Lies My Teacher Told Me: "But as long as history textbooks make white racism invisible in the twentieth century, neither they nor the students who use them will be able to analyze race relations intelligently in the twenty-first" (171).

I appreciate Urrea's technique, but find his bold style a little harder to relate to than Alexie's welcoming introduction and more gradual progression in The Summer of Black Widows. I do feel strongly that all three men, Loewen, Urrea, and Alexie, are headed toward the same purpose or end point though they may take entirely different approaches to problems like racism, poverty, and ignorance. The three different genres they do use (history, poetry, short story) really help me to see a broader perspective and clearer visual though.