2-11-21

As you already know, my son begrudging read Born A Crime by Trevor Noah for English class. He rebelled against it. He didn’t want to like it, but his laugher, as he read, told me that he didn’t quite hate it as much as he wanted to. Not even close. When he finished the book, he asked me if there was a sequel. He was ready to buy it immediately and dive right into it. When I told him there wasn’t one, he looked crushed. “Maybe I should write him a letter,” he mused aloud. “If he knows how much I liked the book, maybe he’ll write another one.” And so, he sat down at his computer and started typing. He’s going to mail the letter tomorrow. But I’ll let you all read it first:

Dear Trevor Noah,

Hi, my name is G3.  I am 11 years old and I have just read your book. My mom is homeschooling me this year due to the pandemic. My favorite things to do after school are archery and taekwondo This year, I have read The Hobbit, Christmas Carol, two Edgar Allan Poe short stories, “The Little Match Girl,” and Born A Crime. My mom thought I had to have more diversity than only dead white men. That’s why we read Born A Crime. To be honest, I thought it would be boring, but by the end of it, I wished there was a sequel. My mom did have to scratch out a few words. She did this because the content was inappropriate. After reading the book, I wrote an essay about how education is a tool for racial oppression. In the chapter “The World Does Not Love You,” I found it interesting that the police pulled you over because you are mixed. Since my mom is addicted to CNN (explicitly top of the hour) I see the same thing going on in America today. One example of this travesty is George Floyd. It is sad people are still judged by the color of their skin.

My favorite scene in the book is when you pooped on a piece of paper and your mom thought it was a demon. It just boggled my mind that people would even consider that a demon pooped in their trash. My other favorite scene was when you were finally at the Matrix Dance and your date did not speak any language you knew. My question for you is: how did you never have a conversation with your girlfriend?

I found it interesting how you made your book funny but also serious. I initially thought I was just going to learn about your life, but in the end, I learned all about Apartheid. One fact I found interesting was how people had more jobs during Apartheid than they did after. The one thing I found most interesting was not clearly stated. Apartheid was worse than slavery. In America, slavery is taught like it was the worst thing that could happen to black people. American children never learn that Apartheid was much worse. I say that because slavery was part of Apartheid.  

My mom’s friend has a little house in the back yard and she lets us use that for homeschooling. It looks very much like a hippie style apartment. There is a little table and floor cushions. There are Indian type pillows and a Buddha statue. They have a little guitar and drum. Sometimes after my home school lesson my mom and I climb up into the loft and watch your show. I loved when you made fun of Jarvonka. The reason I am allowed to watch your show is because that was the only way my mom got me to read your book, which I later loved. 

I look forward to seeing more of your shows and I hope you write another book.

Sincerely, 

G