Racism within Song of Solomon

Not Doctor Street. What is wrong with this title? In the initial chapters of Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison explains that the black community voted to name the street "Doctor Street" because the only black doctor in the entire town lived there. During the mid-twentieth century (the time the novel takes place) black men and women would face discrimination, antagonism, and oppression. The first instance in which Morrison reveals this discrimination is through the title of a street. The surrounding white community wished to discredit the black doctor's success by changing the name of the street to Mains Avenue. It is evident that the women and men who live on this "Not Doctor Street" are the men and women who face racism in their everyday lives. For the doctor, he was faced with criticism and discrimination based on his skin color and was inhibited from practicing medicine at the local hospital. While his talents were extraordinary, his complexion degraded his chances of helping white people who were gravely ill. As the house was passed down to his daughters family, each character deals with racism in their own unique ways as the Doctor did several years prior. For instance, Macon's character represents racism in the black community. Macon strives to obtain status, wealth and respect by owning a business that controls several houses within the black community. By holding this position, Macon wishes to be seen as higher than those who surround him. In addition to Macon, Milkman too takes on the challenge of living during a time where racism was at an all-time high. Milkman, who was shielded for a majority of his childhood from discrimination, discovers through the words of Railroad Tommy all the things black men will never be able to do. Milkman's character at the age of twelve was exposed to this idea of racism through a laundry list of positions and titles he will never be able to achieve. While those are just two out of the five family members, it is clear that Morrison has each character exposed to racism and faces the challenges of discrimination, oppression, and antagonism in all sorts of ways -- both in the black and white communities.