Reginald Denny Character Analysis

Reginald Denny is a white truck driver who was racially targeted and attacked by Black protestors during the riots. He was ultimately rescued and rushed to the hospital by four Black people who saw the attack broadcast on television and rushed to his aid. Denny suffered severe injuries as a result of the attack, and he required years to recover. Unlike Judith Tur, who has no sympathy for protestors, Denny doesn’t harbor resentment against the Black community. Instead, his attack inspires him to see the “weird common thread” that connects his life and the lives of his rescuers. In his interview with Smith, Denny expresses his wish to buy a house and set aside one of its rooms as a memorial to the riots and to all the kind notes he received from strangers after his attack. As with Rodney King’s beating, Denny’s attack was captured on video, broadcast to the world, and created widespread public outcry. Tur’s account, in particular, shows how white viewers used Denny’s attack to validate their fears about the Black community and paint themselves as victims. Throughout the play, Smith challenges the narrative of white victimhood, most prevalently through interviews with Black characters, such as Paul Parker and Al Cooper, who suggest that Denny’s attack was only a significant because it was an outlier: a white person being beaten is an anomaly and worthy of public unrest, whereas a Black person being beaten is culturally accepted as something that just happens. Denny’s interview illustrates his capacity for forgiveness and his desire to embrace a shared experience with people of other races.