Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation

Alex Nieto was the son of Hispanic immigrants who grew up in San Francisco. He worked as a security guard and was a respected and beloved member of his community. One evening in March 2014, two white tech workers called 911 to report that they found Nieto acting strangely in a local park. In fact, he had recently had a disturbing encounter with an irresponsible and racist dog owner who accosted him. Minutes later police shot Nieto after they claimed he pointed the taser he used in his work at them. Witness testimony and forensic evidence contradict the police account, however, and law enforcement assumed Nieto was a gang member based solely on his race, ethnicity, and red 49ers jacket. Writer Rebecca Solnit asserts that the Bay Area’s gentrification contributed to Nieto’s murder.

Arthur Barrow is the protagonist in Joy Williams’s short story “Portion.” His life is a metaphor for the shallow and unfulfilling nature of American consumerism. After inheriting the estate of a mysterious figure known only as “the Governor,” Barrow quickly indulges in a variety of luxuries until there is nothing left.