of Weapons, Gordon Parks shows how an incredibly talented, young black man could achieve success in the mainstream white culture before the Civil Rights movement and against all odds. Parks

and my delight in human beings" (Walker PG). Powerful women are a rare breed. Such rarity is clearly depicted in two particularly

nihilism now pervasive in black American life. Thats the pattern this paper will follow, beginning with Cornel West. Cornel West is a man rightly frustrated with the fact that

which erupts in response to what the Lee family perceive as an arrogant and uncaring medical establishment. Although revealed in the pages of a novel, these conflicts closely parallel

impact on a persons self-esteem since it biases others perceptions and how those others communicate their own attitudes. Add that factor to self-esteem issues that all American women have and