Opinion Article

Paper One Sample Response:
Text:
“George Floyd’s Death raises an old question: “How Long” by Leonard Pitts. May 31,
2020, Miami Herald.
Guiding Question:
How does the author use language to convey his opinion about the global issue?
Sample Response:
In this opinion article, Leonard Pitts argues that the systemic racism that resulted in the
loss of George Floyd’s life is a reflection of the failure of American society to confront
racism and a reflection of the frustration and anger of many African Americans. This links
directly to the field of inquiry of power, politics and justice and the global issue of systemic
racism. In this opinion article, Leonard Pitts uses language effectively to suggest that
the eternal frustration and anger of African Americans regarding systemic racism has
reached a breaking point.
In the headline of his piece and throughout the article, Pitts uses a powerful allusion to a
speech by Martin Luther King who asked “how long” African Americans needed to endure
in order to convey his biting criticism of systemic racism. This speech given in 1960 in
Atlanta, GA is depicted in a powerful black and white image and is also quoted in a direct
quotation in the lead of Pitts’ article. By alluding to MLK, Pitts is clearly drawing a direct
comparison between the struggle during the Civil Rights era and the current struggle as
expressed in the Black Lives Matter movement. Pitts’ use of religious diction such as the
antiquated “spake” (for spoke) and “deliverance” and even his pleading comment, “Oh,
Lord, how long?” refers directly to Martin Luther King’s being a reverend and his appeal to
God and religious ethics in his call to action. However, Pitts uses this allusion to MLK to
make his main argument--that nothing (or little) has actually improved since the days of
MLK and that we are still waiting. Pitts then uses a metaphor to connect the past to the
present and says that “55 years later we are trapped in a revolving door nightmare” and
“every door leads back to more of the same.” The long list of very familiar first names
follows this metaphor connecting the reader directly to various victims of racism and
violence like Oscar Grant in Oakland, CA and Michael Brown or Breonna Taylor. The fact
that Pitts chooses first names in this exhaustive list communicates his intimacy with all of
them and also shows the reader how ubiquitous this problem is. This rich metaphor is
showing the reader that history is just repeating itself and that MLK would still be asking,
“How Long”?
Pitts moves on to use language to convey his argument that systemic racism is a perpetual
social problem for many African Amerians. In series of powerful rhetorical questions
using the same anaphora that MLK used in 1960, Pitts asks “How long” we see “our sons
murdered” or “how long” we “endure with impotent fury” These powerful rhetorical
questions are also set off as independent paragraphs to clearly draw the reader’s
attention and understand the gravity of the situation. This idea of how long connects to
the motif of time and connects directly back to MLK and shows Pitts’ opinion and
frustration at the same time. HIs powerful diction here with words like “murdered” and
“impotent fury” and “exhaustion to our bones” shows his anger at systemic racism and the
lack of change.
Later in the article, Pitts provides background on the George Floyd case to connect the
reader to the current situation and to also show Pitts’ own interpretation of these events.
He describes the surveillance footage and what it revealed and quotes George Floyd
saying “I can’t breathe” and describes Officer Derek Chavin “kneeling” While the purpose
of this section is to remind the reader of the event, Pitts cleverly inserts his opinion
regarding the excessive force used by Chauvin. The emphasis on “kneeling” is obvious and
Pitts ends his paragraph with the repeated phrase “Chauvin kneels to emphasize the
inhumane treatment and excessive time that Chauvin spent in “restraining” George Floyd.
This parallel structure is yet another feature used by Pitts to show his opinion on systemic
racism and police brutality.
This act of “kneeling” is then carried over to the next paragraph in a clever transition as
Pitts refers to the kneeling of a Black NFL player to note the contrast in how the
government and American society treats both acts of kneeling. Pitts uses this comparison
to show that more needs to be done to address systemic racism and that Kapernick was
condemned for kneeling in protest while the police kneeling on Floyd is kneeling of an
entirely different sort and for an entirely different purpose. Pitts cynically remarks that
the White House and American government showed more “outrage” at Kapernick’s
kneeling than they will at Chauvin’s kneeling. This clear irony also helps to underscore
Pitts’ argument.
Pitts then generaizes his argument and expands it by making many allusions to other
forms of racism to show that racism is pervasive and not isolated to the actions of a few
rogue policemen. Pitts lists the many forms of racism such as “health care, voter
suppression and cross burning” to show that racism exists in many arenas. This again
shows the reader that the events surrounding George Floyd’s death are just a tip of the
iceberg. Using parallel structure and repetition Pitts remarks that “it doesn’t matter” what
kind of racism is presented. What really matters to Pitts is that American society fails to
“treat African Americans as if their lives have meaning and value” This brief concise
statement is a clear message that Pitts wants his readers to understand.
Pitts concludes his piece with a flourish to issue almost a warning to the reader about the
impatience and frustration with this issue. He goes back to his original allusion to Martin
Luther King and the idea of questioning “how long” we will have to wait to see some
improvement. Again using anaphor and rhetorical questions, Pitts asks “how long people
can be expected to the endure hypocrisy and lies and how long they can endure a
revolving door nightmare.” This repetition of these questions echol Pitts frustration and
also echo the words of MLK. Pitts’ mentions that the word of King “echo as a warning”
This warning is then repeated in Pitts’ final two words as he answers the question (and the
question used in the lead of the article as well) with “Not long” These two words
resonate with readers as they wonder what will happen next as anger and frustration
builds after Floyd’s tragic death. The circular structure of the article with a question from
King at the beginning and a curt answer from Pitts in the end is a powerful dialogue
between a civil rights activist from history on one end and an African American journalist
and thinker on the other.
This biting opinion article comes right after a cataclysmic event that shocked the world.
George Floyd’s death gave momentum to the Black Lives Matter movement and forced so
many institutions to think about systemic racism. It has changed ISB as well as we think
about our own privilege and what we do to teach about prejudice of all kinds. It is through
the words of writers like Pitts and speakers like MLK that we feel the power and
understand the importance of taking action instead of repeatedly asking “how long.”
Word Count: 1240
Time: 50 minutes writing time (+20 minutes reading and annotating)

Be sure to check out the companion video to this
document: Paper One - Op Ed - Student Sample - FULL
RESPONSE. This will enable you to further understand
key concepts and develop the critical skills necessary
that lead to success in IB English.

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Paper One Sample Response:

Word Count: 1240

Time: 50 minutes writing time (+20 minutes reading and annotating)

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