Empoword

Part Two: Text Wrestling 229 the story Twyla states that “[her] mother danced all night”, which is the main reason why Twyla is “taken to St. Bonny’s” (Morrison 139). Twyla soon finds that she will be “stuck… with a girl from a whole other race” who “never washed [her] hair and [she] smelled funny” (Morrison 139). From Twyla’s description of Roberta’s hair and scent, one could assume that Roberta is black due to the stereotype that revolves around a black individual’s hair. Later on in the story Twyla runs into Roberta at her work and describes Roberta’s hair as “so big and wild” that “[she] could hardly see her face”, which is another indicator that Roberta has Afro-textured hair (Morrison 144). Yet, when Twyla encounters Roberta at a grocery store “her huge hair was sleek” and “smooth” resembling a white woman’s hair style (Morrison 146). Roberta’s hairstyles are stereotypes that conflict with one another; one attributing to a black woman, the other to a white woman. The differences in hair texture, and style, are a result of phenotypes, not race. Phenotypes are observable traits that “result from interactions between your genes and the environment” (“What are Phenotypes?”). There is not a specific gene in the human genome that can be used to determine a person’s race. Therefore, the racial categories in society are not constructed on the genetic level, but the social. Dr. J Craig Venter states, “We all evolved in the last 100,000 years from the same small number of tribes that migrated out of Africa and colonized the world”, so it does not make sense to claim that race has evolved a specific gene and certain people inherit those specific genes (Angier). From Twyla’s narration of Roberta, Roberta can be classified into one of two racial groups based on the stereotypes ascribed to her. Intersectionality states that people are at a disadvantage by multiple sources of oppressions, such their race and class. “Recitatif” seems to be written during the Civil Rights Era where protests against racial integration took place. This is made evident when Twyla says, “strife came to us that fall...Strife. Racial strife” (Morrison 150). According to NPR, the Supreme Court ordered school busing in 1969 and went into effect in 1973 to allow for desegregation (“Legacy”). Twyla “thought it was a good thing until she heard it was a bad thing”, while Roberta picketed outside “the school they were trying to integrate” (Morrison 150). Twyla and Roberta both become irritated with one another’s reaction to the school busing order, but what woman is on which side? Roberta seems to be a white woman against integrating black students into her