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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dear Martin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Privilege, Entitlement, and Implicit Bias
Appearances and Assumptions
Support, Acceptance, and Belonging
Opportunity and Upward Mobility
The Media and Public Discourse
Summary
Analysis
A newspaper article explains that Julian Rivers has “stepped down” from his position as executive vice president of Davidson Wells Financial Corporation. “According to CEO Chuck Wallace, photographs of Mr. Rivers on the front lines of an Atlanta march that shut down traffic for hours last week triggered the loss of several high-profile clients and approximately $80 million in revenue for the asset management firm,” the article reads. A quote from the CEO claims that the company and Mr. Rivers have “mutually agreed to part ways.”
Considering that his son was killed by a racist white police officer, it makes sense that Mr. Rivers would be involved with groups protesting police brutality. And yet, his company doesn’t seem to care about this, prioritizing their “high-profile clients” (i.e., rich white people) over keeping him as an employee—a response that underlines the ways in which racism is intertwined with many powerful institutions.
Themes
