Colson Whitehead and John Lewis bring about the ever-changing community of New York City. Both authors have seen the community change in different views. The one world they used to know as the norm perishes in the new world that takes its place. Colson Whitehead’s journey was based on what he witnessed and not what he hears from others. Whitehead said “ I’ve been to Canal Street, and the only time I ever saw a river flow through it was during the last water-main explosion. Never listen to what people tell you about old New York because if you didn’t witness it, it is not a part of your New York and might as well be Jersey.” Whitehead elaborates you don’t know New York unless you experience it for yourself, not what others think. There were places Whitehead wished he could see or still have but the community will always change. The world he knows will forever live in his memories and explore the new changes over time. While for John Lewis change in the community is the growth from the hardship of African Americans in the past to the modern fights for Black Lives Matter. Lewis wrote, “Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters, and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare.” Lewis talks about the beauty of his community as well as the hardships they must face of the outside world. He grew up in that environment and the BLM movement is a spark of hope for the future of his community.

The message portrayed in both pieces is the community will face changes and hardship whether it’s for good or bad. Us community members of any community must live with those memories of things that are lost and know the hardships that we go through come with better results in time.

I feel closer with Whitehead’s piece as I grew up seeing my world change constantly and I had to accept the faith. I hold those memories and the experience as I live every new day. Everything will change but it’s more important how I cherish and grow to the new changes.