Writing the Truth of Racial Divide: Evoking Emotion Through Fiction
By Olivia Salter
The racial divide is a profound and painful truth that shapes societies worldwide. Writing about this disconnect demands honesty, sensitivity, and a deep understanding of its historical, cultural, and emotional weight. To evoke this emotion in your stories, focus on the lived experiences, systemic realities, and moments of humanity that illuminate these divides.
1. Center Authentic Voices
To write about racial disconnect, prioritize authentic perspectives. Center characters who live within these divides, and allow their voices to be fully realized.
Example: A Black teenager navigating the coded language of “fitting in” at a predominantly white school.
Key: Avoid flattening characters into archetypes. Focus on their complexities and internal worlds.
2. Highlight Microaggressions and Daily Realities
The racial divide often manifests in subtle, everyday interactions. These microaggressions—small, often unintentional slights—can carry deep emotional resonance.
Example: A character’s joy is dimmed when their competence is questioned or when they’re mistaken for someone else repeatedly.
Exercise: Write a scene where a character faces a microaggression but chooses not to respond, showing their internal struggle.
3. Explore Generational Perspectives
Racial divides affect generations differently. Older characters may carry scars from overt segregation, while younger ones face modern forms of systemic inequality.
Example: A grandmother recounts stories of marching for civil rights while her grandchild struggles with racial profiling in their school.
4. Use Contrast to Show the Divide
Juxtaposing experiences between characters from different racial or cultural backgrounds can make the divide tangible.
Example: Two colleagues—one Black, one white—respond differently to a police encounter, revealing their contrasting realities.
Method: Let their internal monologues highlight their distinct emotional truths.
5. Focus on Silent Pain and Resilience
The racial divide often leaves a legacy of unspoken grief. Explore the quiet moments where characters process this pain alone.
Example: A character deletes an impassioned social media post about injustice, fearing backlash.
Tip: Use imagery and metaphors to express emotions that words cannot.
6. Illuminate Systemic Inequities
Show how systems perpetuate the divide—healthcare, education, employment, and criminal justice.
Example: A father fights to clear his son’s name in a biased legal system, while grappling with his own distrust of authority.
7. Build Empathy Through Shared Humanity
While exposing the divide, highlight moments of shared humanity. Small acts of connection—unexpected kindness, mutual grief, or even conflict—can reveal the potential for understanding.
Example: A character helps a neighbor during a crisis, breaking through a barrier of mistrust.
8. Incorporate History as a Living Force
The past is never truly past when it comes to racial divides. Let history inform the present in your stories.
Example: A descendant of enslaved people visits a plantation-turned-museum, grappling with the commercialization of their ancestors’ suffering.
9. Evoke Emotion Through Setting
Use the setting as a reflection of racial disconnect.
Example: A gentrified neighborhood where traces of its original community linger—a graffiti-covered mural, a faded sign from a family-owned shop.
10. Write with Courage and Vulnerability
Tackling racial divides requires bravery. Allow your writing to be uncomfortable and raw. Let your characters confront hard truths, and don’t shy away from portraying the depth of this disconnect.
Conclusion: Bridging the Divide Through Storytelling
By writing about the racial divide with emotional honesty, you can create fiction that sparks reflection and conversation. Let your stories not only expose the disconnect but also explore the paths toward understanding, healing, and change.
