Reading Culturally Diverse Literature

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson demonstrates cultural authenticity in many different ways. First, this book discusses the segregated south during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The author talks of the vulgar language and treatment that African Americans endured in their everyday lives. Additionally, it brought to the surface many realistic scenarios to the surface that causes the reader to empathize with many characters throughout the text. For example, during the tennis match between Big Dub’ and Coach Turner’s teams, Big Dub’s team was going to win but a player on Coach Turner’s team was not going to lose to an African American so he faked an ankle injury to maintain his reputation and pride. After the match, three of the players on Coach Turner’s team attacked Big Dub’ and Reggie and threatened them so they had to leave town for good. This is an example of some of the despicable behaviors that African Americans had to endure during this period of time- nobody should be forced to leave their homes and start over in a new city. Another example of how this book is culturally authentic is that it references some culturally authentic events for the African American culture, such as Candace’s Mother’s “big chop” that is referenced on page 6. Lastly, this book also touches on the authenticity of what the African American experience could be like today. For example, many African American individuals fear the police, like Brandon’s sister. These are just a few of the many examples in this book that make it culturally authentic.