In John Howard Griffin's novel, Black Like Me, hope is present in select places Griffin travels to the South where people fight the racism and black people have not yet “given up hope”. For example, Griffin notes that in Montgomery, Alabama, blacks fight racism, no matter the consequences. He couldn't identify the whites' point of view, other than that they were a little upset: they didn't want the blacks to assimilate into society, and they were angry at their rebellion. But the black people who were fighting back sparked hope in Griffin because of the lack of utter desperation he found in the other cities he had traveled to. Griffin was picked up by a kind young black man on Nov. 24 who gave him hope. Even though the man was struggling to support his family, they were wealthy, meaning they had unconditional love for each other. The family also had love for all humanity; they welcomed a complete stranger to eat with them and stay in their home for a night. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In A Place at the Table, teenagers from different backgrounds explained the oppression their ancestors faced and how they were proud of them. Once they told their stories, the kids realized that they weren't actually that different from each other, even though they were different races. They have become aware that they are not alone and that there are many people who they have for support and who they can count on and empathize with. For example, the girl who had Irish ancestors said they came to America and faced oppression just like the boy's ancestors who were black slaves. All of their ancestors faced oppression when they expected America to be the “land of the free.” The main hopeful idea of ​​this film was that everyone, regardless of background or race, has "a seat at the table", table meaning America. Race shouldn't matter. In Dr. King's speech, I Have a Dream, King talks about his hopes for the country. He explains how he wants everyone to realize that they are equal, regardless of skin color, much like the hope shown in Black Like Me and A Place at the Table. His speech demonstrates the hope of one individual, but a hope shared by many who are oppressed just like King. Black Like Me significantly changed the way I think about oppression. I thought oppression meant you can't fight back, and no matter what you do, you're always oppressed. But now I realize that oppression doesn't have to come without the victim being unable to fight back. In fact, oppression can be greatly influenced if the victim stands up for himself. It's even more effective to defend your position when you have people supporting you, which is why I liked the hope found in all three sources I talked about. Most ideas anticipated by the oppressed are best realized when there are other oppressed people fighting with them. Black Like Me hasn't changed my opinion on stereotypes. I still think they are absolutely unfair, unreasonable and false. I was also shocked by some of the stereotypes introduced to me by Black Like Me, for example, when many of the white men Griffin took to riding with assumed that "the black man" had a more exciting and different sex life than white men. They were obsessed with that stereotype and failed to see that skin color doesn't determine sex life any more than it does.