Set between the 1950s and 1980s in America Twyla and Roberta, the two main characters of “Recitatif,” are born into an environment of the most racial strife in American history.  Of course, this racial inequality is seen in many instances throughout the short story, but what makes this piece particularly interesting is that Toni Morrison never explicitly says which race either Roberta or Twyla are. This puts the reader in a unique position as it is left up to them to determine which is black and which is white, and based on the person’s own stereotypes/prejudices the answer may differ. My interpretation is that the time period in which “Recitatif” was written is directly responsible for why there is such ambiguity in the races of the main character. Morrison wanted to show the reader that at this point in history racial relations were getting better but there were still stereotypes and bigotry that remained. 

“Recitatif” begins in the 1950s, when both Twyla and Roberta are small children in their first years at the orphanage. Of course, this period in American history was right before the Civil Rights Movement and therefore racial tensions were very high. Morrison expresses this in the short story during the interaction between Roberta’s mother and Twyla. “Roberta’s mother looked down at me and then looked down at Mary too. She didn’t say anything, just grabbed Roberta with her Bible-free hand and stepped out of line, walking quickly to the rear of it” (Morrison 4). This is the one point in the short story where I was almost certain that I knew Twyla was black because of the reaction Roberta’s mom had towards her, then I realized that my assumption of this was actually a stereotype and it could just as easily be a black mother having the same reaction to a white girl. Getting back on topic, this is probably the most blatant example of racism in the entire story and it makes sense that it would take place then because the setting is in the 1950s. It is somewhat unclear when the next scene in the story takes place but I estimated either late 1950s or 60s, either way it was right in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. I found that this scene in the diner is the last moment that could be interpreted as racist. “She gestured casually toward the boy next to her. ‘Hendrix Fantastic,’ I said. ‘Really fantastic. What’s she doing now?’ Roberta coughed on her cigarette and the two guys rolled their eyes at the ceiling. ‘Hendrix. Jimi Hendrix, asshole. He’s only the biggest-Oh, wow. Forget it.’ I was dismissed without anyone saying goodbye, so I thought I would do it for her” (Morrison 6). Of course, this altercation between Roberta and Twyla could be completely unrelated to race, Roberta could be just astonished and taken aback by the fact Twyla does not know who Jimi Hendrix is. However, I interpreted it as more of a slightly racially motivated scene because of how condescending Roberta is towards Twyla. 

The first piece of literature I read pertaining to this period was Reardon’s scholarly article, “School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps.” This article considers the link between academic achievement and racial segregation of American school systems in the 1960s and 1970s, which isn’t precisely when “Recitatif” was written but is close enough to be historically accurate. Throughout the article Reardon takes a very objective look at how school systems around the country were affected by segregation and poverty. He strictly looks at numbers and test score and comes to the conclusion that, “Racial segregation is strongly associated with racial achievement gaps, and the racial difference in the proportion of student’s schoolmates who are poor is the key dimension of segregation driving this association” (Reardon). This is so pertinent to “Recitatif” because of the fact that the last portion of this short story revolves entirely around the segregation of public schools and how it affected Twyla and Roberta. “Strife came to us that fall. At least that's what the paper called it. Strife. Racial strife. The word made me think of a bird-a big shrieking bird out of 1,000,000,000 B.C. Flapping its wings and cawing. Its eye with no lid always bearing down on you. All day it screeched and at night it slept on the rooftops. It woke you in the morning and from the Today show to the eleven o'clock news it kept you an awful company. I couldn't figure it out from one day to the next” (Morrison 11). This is the point in which Twyla realizes that the racial strife is now not only affecting her but her entire family as her children were out of school because they were trying to integrate the schools and many people, such as Roberta, were against it. This goes to show that despite the fact that at this point the Civil Rights Movement was over, America was still locked in a mindset that race divided the population. 

In conclusion, race is the key component that makes “Recitatif” such a powerful short story. The reader never knows which character is black or white, but it isn’t about what race they are. The fact of the matter is that these two girls grew up in an awful situation in an awful time in American history. Morrison writing from the 1980s is reflecting on these terrible times through these girls and how the racial strife affected their lives every step of the way. She is looking back and saying how America has come a long way since those dark times but also so much is left to be done in order for complete equality to be achieved. 
