In the parentheses on pages 272 and 273, Wright describes how in order for the black man to be on par with the white man, there would need to be a complete social upheaval. He writes that America is too fresh for such a change that is needed to occur. Though America depends on the black man's labor, it has been so long an integral part of American civilization that she will not soon be willing to bend for him.
I am particularly intrigued by the last two paragraphs of this passage. He describes the life of a black man as having a deeper emotional connection to the world in contrast to the flighty, superficial white women he works with. While the girls prance around fantasizing about radios and famous people, he must endure each day with the burden of his race's solitude. That is interesting to me because in a different part of the chapter, Wright writes that African Americans have been turned into the image the whites project onto them. It seems like the reaction to such oppression would have far more variation than that. Wright's suffering bores into his existence, completely consuming him. Others would likely be absorbed by the ignorant, smiling character, becoming nothing more than a shell of a human being; these individuals would feel nothing. Both scenarios would be utter torture. However, I think Wright is correct; America was not ready for the transition. I don't think it's ready now, in 2009, either. Much of what he said in that passage holds true today, though generally to a far lesser extent.
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You write that America isn't ready for racial change. I couldn't disagree more. America's certainly ready for a transition, and this transition has essentially happened. Yes, racism stills exists, but it's far, far, better than the racism that existed during Wright's time. We have a black president, after all, who was popular on the campaign trail and who remains popular now.
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