The Black Ball, by Ralph Ellison is a short story about a black man who lives in the South and with his young son have to face the terrible effects of racism and segregation, particularly in the Deep South. This story, among other many, puts forward an interesting dilemma that people don´t usually think about when thinking about segregation and the sufferings faced by African Americans and that is, the incapacity of these people to believe that there were white men who wanted things to change for African Americans and were working towards equality for black people in the United States.
As said before, The Black Ball tells the story of John, an African American man who works in an apartment building and also lives there with his very young son. John, aside from being a janitor, is trying to study to one day improve his and his son´s situation. However, in his mind, there is always an element that calls to attention; he cannot forget that he and his son are black and they see this as a disadvantage, evidenced by him telling his son that he is not black but brown, and that better yet, he is just American. John has always been a remarkable worker and doesn´t mind the hardship, even if this means having to leave his son alone in their unit. He has fallen into an acceptance of his circumstances because he dreams that his sacrifices will one day gain him and his son something better. So he lives every day and works as he is expected to by his white boss, Mr. Berry. Another important aspect of this story, and the dilemma that was mentioned above, is the disbelief that John faces when the white union man approaches him, a bit derisively and even hostile at first, and proves to John that he means him no harm and that he, instead of being like other whites, is fighting for the common good of all African Americans, to the extent of getting punished and exiled for supporting a black friend of his. John cannot accept this in the beginning, thinks the man is just like other white men, even doing what other whites are doing, which is demanding they be given black men´s jobs and it is not until the man shows him his scars and tells him his story that John believes him and changes his perception. The story finally ends when John´s son goes to the front of the building unit, against his father´s instructions, and both end up in trouble because of a white boy who throws the little kid´s ball into Mr. Berry´s study. The final aspect that impacts the reader is the mention of the black ball when the kid´s ball is actuall white and the need for the child to one day be like his dad and get behind the black call, making an allusion to the issue of segregation and anti-African American sentiments in the South and the need for his son to learn that he may play and be with white children while he is himself a child, but once he grows up, he must learn the difference between them and get behind the black ball like his father and all his ancestors before him. The story ends when John remembers the hands of the white union representative and reflecting realizes that maybe, one day, the colors on the ball may be other than just white.
