Is Troy Maxson a racist?

For years racism has been an issue for many people. Unfortunately it still exists today in some form or another. The play Fences by August Wilson is set in a time when the issues of racism are starting to change for the better. The main character of the play, Troy Maxson, has dealt with the injustice of racism for his entire life. He uses many of the phrases that today would be thought of as derogatory like “nigger” and “the white man,” but to him they are just words of description because he calls his sons and friends “nigger”.   After reading the play I do not; however, feel that Troy Maxson is a racist. Although Troy had been treated different due to his race I feel all he wants is to live his life and not be held back because of his color. He has a strong principle that a man should put in a hard days work and take care of his family financially. Troy just does not want to be told what to do by someone else and at this place and time it is the white man that is in charge. Troy has a hard time giving much else to his family like love and support. This lack of compassion and his belief that his son will face the racist treatment he received while trying to play baseball has kept him from supporting his son’s dreams. He fought his racist treatment and was the first black man to drive a garbage truck. Even with everything he has faced in life I still feel that he just wants to make his money and be left alone even by his family.