For my first TED talk analysis, I chose "My road trip through the whitest towns in America" by Rich Benjamin. He is an African American writer and journalist that was born in New York City. He wrote the non-fiction book, "Searching for a Whitopia" and he wrote many articles in NPR, New York Timed, MSNBC, and more. The subject of the video was to inform citizens of the United States of the truth behind racially segregated communities. Rich Benjamin lived for a short amount of time in the three "whitest" cities in America, which are St. George, Utah, Couer D'alene, Idaho, and Forsyth County, Georgia. He lived in those cities to experience the life of a "whitopia" in a black man's eyes. Benjamin provided us with pictures and many experiences that are unforgettable of the time he spent in those cities. However, you would assume that those experiences weren't pleasant ones, but it turns out they are the complete opposite. For example, he went fishing, golfing, and even went to one of the biggest and whitest churches in Georgia. So, Benjamin wanted to share with America and other countries that people in these "whitopias" aren't actually there for racial purposes; they're there for good property values, friendliness, orderliness, safety, less crowded schools and neighborhoods, less taxes, and many more various reasons. Therefore, he stressed the fact that most white people aren't "white supremacists" or "white seperatists" and that they just truly want a better environment and community. On the other hand, the subject of this TED talk relates to a key theme in "The Great Gatsby", which is social and physical differentiations between the characters of the novel.
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