To Nella Larson: I am specifically interested in our account on the issue that white people are "afraid" of the blacks, especially the black male. In my personal opinion, there should be various illustrations to this question. The major fear of the white people may be that blacks may gain equal rights and privileges just as they do. As a famous saying goes, "The way to make a line shorten without using a eraser is to draw a line longer." To the white racists, privileges should be placed in a viable context due to its relativity. They fear that they may loose their superiority and the major distinctions between them and the blacks. On the other hand, another undeniable fact is that the image of "savagery" imposed upon black males ingrains deeply inside many white people's cognition. In the face that the black males "have the potential for crime" "tend to be dangerous", racists justified the actions such as lynching. Overall, the emotion of "afraid" shows that some of the white people feel isolated, alienated, and insecure after the chaos and the dramatic changes consistent from the Reconstruction to the mid-20th century.

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