In his short story “Waiting in the Line at the Drugstore”, James Thomas Jackson provides us with the insight on how he became associated with the world of literature, in the first place. While working as a courier for Owl Photo Studio in Houston, Texas, during his childhood years, Jackson had to pick up lunches for studio’s workers at the nearby drugstore. He did not feel particularly fond of this part of his job, because, while picking up items at the drugstore, Jackson used to experience a sense of humiliation, over the colour of his skin, as he was always the last to be served and because there were places in the store where was not supposed to set his foot, simply because of being Black: “My beef was that I was forbidden to sit at that counter (where White people sat). If any black wanted service whether for himself or, like me, for those he worked for – he simply had to stand and wait until all the white folks were served” (Jackson). Eventually, visiting a drugstore every morning turned into the most unpleasant errand that Jackson had ever been sent on, during the course of his “career” as delivery boy, because it was namely this place, where Jackson would feel his racial inferiority with utter acuteness. This was the reason why he always strived to remain in the store for as little as possible, while constantly longing to return back to the “ghetto”, as the place he felt he truly belonged: “Clean and sanitary as the drugstore was, I preferred the ghetto (though we didn’t call it that then). There, at least, we had the freedom to roam all over our stretch of black territory and could shuck our feelings of enforced inferiority as soon as we were on common ground” (Jackson).
Nevertheless, in one of those days, Jackson had accidentally discovered that there was a way to keep himself occupied, while waiting for the ordered items – he realized that he could take books from “Lending Library” and to do a bit of casual reading, during the course of his stay at the drugstore each morning. Moreover, he also realized that reading books had changed the way he used to perceive a surrounding reality: “Something was happening to me, and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. Somehow I didn’t feel the “badness” that I usually felt when I returned from the drugstore” (Jackson). In other words – the fact that Jackson began to broaden his intellectual horizons, by reading books, resulted in him being rid of much of his existential negativity. He no longer felt that there was a good reason for Whites to treat him as an inferior being, while realizing that the only reason they kept on doing it, was because they could never elevate themselves above their innate prejudices, in regards to Blacks. The fact that Jackson became “hooked on books”, resulted in him beginning to perceive the flow of time differently: “My waiting time got shorter and shorter each morning. I could hardly get five pages read before my order was handed to me” (Jackson). The author concludes his story by suggesting that, even though many things that occur to people might appear as being purely accidental, they sometimes serve as the “starting point” of the process of people, affected by them, gaining a social prominence, just as it happened to Jackson. This appears to be the main motif of Jackson’s story author proved himself capable of rising above his racially predetermined low social status, by becoming an avid reader: “I was deep into the wonderful world of literature and life. I found myself, and my niche, in the world. Who would have thought that a drugstore could provide such a vista for anyone?” (Jackson).
There can be no doubt as to the fact that reading Jackson’s story will come in handy for just about any student, regardless of his or her racial affiliation.
Nowadays, it is being commonly assumed that it is namely the subtle racism, on the part of Whites, which continues to undermine Blacks’ ability to become productive members of society. Yet, as it appears from Jackson’s story, if a Black person is determined to lead a meaningful life, he will be able to accomplish it, regardless of the circumstances of his upbringing. In the time when Jackson was writing his story, there were so-called Jim Crow laws in America’s Southern States, which were meant to prevent Blacks from interacting with Whites. In “Waiting in the Line at the Drugstore”, the author mentions a few Blacks being severely beaten at the drugstore, as the result of their light attitude towards these laws. Before the civil rights movement started to gain momentum in the sixties, Black Americans had to deal with institutionalized racism, on the part of Whites. Yet, many of them were able to prove themselves as being much better than simply “second class citizens”, as the result of their predetermination to expose White racism as not simply “intolerant” or “evil”, but also grossly unscientific. And the only reason they were able to do it, is because they had proven themselves as being more educated than those who continued to refer to them as sub-humans. Jackson’s story teaches Black people one simple thing – they cannot justify their anti-social behavior by suggesting that there were no social preconditions for them to become educated individuals and to get a good job in the first place, because of their low socio-political status. There can be no justification for choosing in favor of smoking crack (bought for welfare money), as opposed to walking to the library and getting some books to read. Thus, we can say that Jackson’s story undermines the most fundamental tenets of neo-Liberalism, which suggest that “underprivileged” people are simply incapable of making their way in the world, because of being constantly “oppressed”. American society will never become as “tolerant” and “fair” as self-appointed spokesmen for “underprivileged” (White Liberals, with pierced lips, ears, and genitals) would like it to see because social utopias can never exist in reality. This, however, does not mean that Black Americans will never be able to get out of “ghettos”. Reading Jackson’s story helps us to realize this simple fact.