Ray - Extra Credit

Ray Charles lived through a lot. The film Ray (2004) makes that very clear. Loss defines most of his story. First, he loses his brother, then his eyesight, his mother, his girlfriend, his health, and almost his marriage. Only after counseling and rehab is Ray finally able to get back in control of his life and live it fully for the first time. In the middle of all of the sorrows and trials, Ray Charles launches into the national spotlight with a music career that he never dreamed was possible. One defining moment in Ray's career comes when he is about to play at a concert in Georgia, a concert that is for blacks only. A man in the crowd begins talking to Ray as he makes his way to the door of the building and convinces Ray not to perform. After this incident and Georgia officially closes its doors to Ray Charles and his band, Milt Shaw (Ray's agent from the record company) is furious and wants Ray to win Georgia back. Ray says that he can't do it, that it is not acceptable for him to play at a segregated concert. Shaw's frustration demonstrates the second tenet of Critical Race Theory: "Because of materialistic determinism, certain groups in society have no incentive to eradicate racism." Concerned only with record sales, discrimination did not phase Shaw when booking Ray's concerts. Ray himself had little incentive to stand up against Jim Crowe concerts because he was financially stable and famous. It took one of his own people pleading for support before Ray would finally recognize the racism that he was indirectly promoting. Another very powerful moment of the film showed a dream Ray had while in the rehab center. Both his mother and his brother were in the dream and they were all back at the house where he grew up. Ray's mother asks him why he let himself become a cripple. She is not referring to his eyesight, but his addiction to heroin. Then Ray's little brother George said, "It's not your fault. It's not your fault." The forgiveness and relief in this moment was extremely powerful. Tenet five of Critical Race Theory states, "Every individual has a complex and compound identity." Ray might have been a drug addict and a womanizer, but he was also a broken child who never learned to forgive himself for what happened. Understanding his own story led to the eventually reunion with his wife and children after kicking his heroin habits. Stories are the key to all kinds of healing. Knowing someone else's story removes the possibility of stereotyping and diminishes the power of racism.