The Cosmopolitan Canopy Elijah Anderson Summary

Elijah Anderson wrote an interesting book, The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life, which describes social settings and people interactions in different parts of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. This book was published on March 28, 2011 by W. W. Norton & Company. Anderson has observed these places in Philadelphia for over thirty years. He uses the observations he made and the stories that people shared with him during his endeavor to answer the following questions: “How do ordinary people in this diverse city interact across and along racial lines? When and how do racial identities figure out into these encounters? When and how do city dwellers set aside their own and other’s particular racial and ethnic identities to communicate

These biases start to show when move out the cosmopolitan canopies. Thus, they are more likely to discriminate against the opposite racial group. In these case black minorities are the ones who suffer the most because there is a high chance that they will experience the “nigger moment” at least once in their lifetime. Also, it is important to note that Anderson answers these questions by analyzing these observations and the experiences that other people shared with him based solely on his personal views and opinion. This paper is going to start by discussing the Reading Terminal in more detail because it is fascinating that people of different races can get along so well in this beautiful place. Then, talk about some of the major points that Anderson addresses on his book. At the end, will conclude by suggesting how we can minimize the racial discrimination in places where cosmopolitan canopies do not