Racism accounts for a large portion of American history and those who had to overcome it, faced many obstacles. Philip Hoose explores the abundant amount of racism in the early 1900’s in Indiana, which was known as almost the homeground for the Klu Klux Klan, which despised African Americans and many other races. Hoose was able to capture his story in his book, Attucks, which follows an all-black Indiana highschool and their struggles to win the Indiana State Championship. Although the story follows a simple plot line, Hoose is capable of capturing so much more in the book such as the struggles black people had to face in the early 1900’s in their everyday life. The theme in this book is not simply racism and how it has affected America as a whole, but how standing your ground in certain situations can bring a community together to overcome obstacles. Despite the cruelty the black characters had to endure in their life, they prevailed and proved to millions that all people have worth. Hoose is able to present a clear purpose in the way he writes his story, and a present theme is referenced throughout the book which gives it a deeper meaning.

I believe that the author's purpose in the book was to bridge that gap of people who don't truly understand the effect racism had on people and to bring awareness to an issue that still is apparent in our society today. Although Racism is widely known around the world, many people still don't truly understand the cruelty of racism and the drastic effect it has on people's lives.  As referenced in the book, “The Great Migration”(14) had a major impact on many African Americans that were in the US, as “fed-up blacks who poured out of the South and funneled into northern cities a sif the map itself had tilted north.”(14). The reason for migrating north was to search for jobs and opportunity since the South treated blacks horribly, but the North wasn't much better as most of the blacks that migrated from the South were thrown into slum neighborhoods. They still faced horrible treatment and were eventually put into all colored schools which leads us to our stories highschool, Crispus Attucks High School. Crispus Attucks High eventually rallied a talented basketball team together, led by Ray Crowe, and won the State Championship, despite facing many obstacles. Hoose makes sure at the beginning of the book to paint a picture of the harsh reality black people faced in America in the 1900’s, which easily allows the reader to begin to sympathize with these characters and people that face these issues. Philip Hoose succeeds in bringing to the surface, this true and inspiring story and uncovering yet another example of racial injustice in our history.

Despite Attucks displaying in large the idea of racism, I believe that this book holds more meaning than racial injustice. This book shows the “readers how being grounded in one’s self-worth and committed to the pursuit of excellence can have a lasting impact on a community”(Kirkus Reviews). This quote in comparison to the book is implying that by the Crispus Attucks basketball team coming together and working hard, they overcame those who said they wouldn't be anything due to their social background and skin color. Not only does coming together solve issues, but “You have to take a stand and say, this is not right!” for change to occur. Change only occurs when one holds their ground and fights for what they believe in, which is why our Attucks basketball team succeeded to the degree that they did. The prevalent theme in this book is standing up for what you believe in and standing firm in that belief.

During the 1900’s racism was extremely common which is why the Great Migration occurred involving African Americans, even though they still faced a tremendous amount of hate in the north. Attucks taught me to not stand down from obstacles but attack them and overcome them, just as the Crispus Attucks basketball team did. Despite the hate they received for their skin color, people slowly began to hop on the bandwagon as they began to succeed, eventually winning the state championship and producing many phenomenal basketball players. Racism has always been present in our society, which is a painful truth that millions of people have to deal with everyday. Although many have suffered from many different obstacles such as racism and many other poor situations, those who make a stand for what they believe in can make a huge difference in their community.