Watching Fences makes me think of how people of color have and continues to be subjected to racial discrimination ever since the early years of civil wars. In the film, racism is evident to interfere with the dreams of characters like Troy and Cory, his son. Troy aims at being the first African American to drive the garbage truck, a dream that faces many challenges. Troy, a trash collector, complains of how men of color can never be hired for driving but always had to do the lifting (1:00: 25-30). Troy makes risk of asking his boss Mr. Rand why employees of color are never given a chance to drive the garbage trucks but only for lifting. Troy had forwarded the complaint to the Commissioner of the union a sign that showed he was not afraid to be fired (1:47).Bono, on the other hand, was afraid that the white management would make up their reasons and fire Troy, but still, this does not shake Troy. This scene makes me think of the way African Americans had to struggle to have an education, allowed to vote and receive employment. Many positions in the company were only given to the Whites while Blacks received those that required manpower just like Troy’s task. The song Troy sings “ Please Mr. Engineer let a man ride the line” further connotes the time where many blacks wandered in the North during the Great Migration. When he sings, “ Iain’t got no ticket, please let me ride the blinds,” represented the utmost poverty slaves experienced after being released (36: 20: 10-15).

Troy enters the house, and after exchanging pleasantries with his wife Rose, he enquires about Cory and Rose tells him that their son had been recruited in the college football team (Act 1 Scene 3). Troy feels terrible that his son will never be accepted as a black person to play in major leagues. He knew racism was still an issue blacks were subjected to ever since their grandfather’s era to the present. He remembers how he himself played in the Negro Leagues but never allowed to play in the Major leagues. He feels as a person of color, his son could experience the same. However, Cory does not feel the same way, and so he brushes off his father when he tells him that white men could never let him play football. Cory tells his father how the Pirates won that day, but Troy seemed not interested and answered him by telling him how the team was full of whites, and they never played Clemente (1: 45: 20-35). In other words, watching Fences though appears to be a simple, profound play makes me open up my mind to understand all that pertains to racial discrimination in this era that seems to get more complicated each day. The faltering race relations in the film is entirely about the African-American realities that took place in midcentury.  Furthermore the struggles Troy goes through breathes a meaning in the struggles all humans go through regardless of their race and color. I further get an understanding that the suffering people go through result from the mistakes they do. This thought is better explained by what happens to Troy when he has nowhere to go yet with a baby to fend for, ( the one left to him by Alberta).

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