The short story “The Finkelstein 5” is about the fallout from a trial in which a white man has been accused of the murders of five black children. The story is narrated from a young Black man named Emmanuel, which begins with him having a job interview at a company. Before the interview, a court case occurred where a white man named George Wilson Dunn was guilty of using a chainsaw to remove the heads of five Black children. A group called “The Namers” were killing white people chanting names of the 5 black children that were beheaded. I find it interesting how innocent people get treated differently based on the way they look. It seems that society nowadays in the present era, make assumptions based on other people’s past experiences. The author had created black characters who are perceived to be innocent to help portray African-Americans trying to fight their way through the world. When reading this short story, I can easily relate it to modern day society, violence seems to be the only way that people can express their emotions and frustration when justice has not been achieved, when relating this to “The Finkelstein 5”, this may have resulted into Emmanuel turning to violence instead of peace.
