Race and
its effect on identity is prevalent in several of the texts we have read this
semester. In “I Like White Boys” from Who
Am I Without Him by Sharon G. Flake, there is obvious racial and social
tension among the black students, the white students, and even within each of
those racial categories. A similar tension is evident in Mississippi Trial, 1955
by Chris Crowe, and through these stories, we gain insight on how these
tensions shape young adults.
In “I Like
White Boys,” Winter, a black female, judges her friend, Erika (also a black
female), because Erika tends to be attracted to white boys. Winter and Erika
attend a fairly affluent school where “we don’t really belong” because they are
some of the few non-white students and are therefore seen as the “Ghetto girls.” The other black students
at the school tease Erika because she acts “the right way—the white way,” speaking Standard American
English and going after white boys. Others see her like an Oreo cookie—black on
the outside and white on the inside. I think the tendencies Erika has to “act
white” make others from her racial background feel betrayed, like she is trying
to break away from them and have a separate identity. Many people feel proud of
their racial heritage and cannot understand why others may not feel that way.
This is especially true for Winter, who says she only likes boys who look like
she does in regards to skin color. Winter feels the need to pick on Johnny
while working in his group and nags him, saying their story should include a
black girl who takes away a white boy from his white girlfriend. Winter feels a
need to make the character of her race socially powerful. She and the other
black students can’t understand Erika’s attraction to people of a different
skin color and constantly try to make her feel inferior for this.
Similarly,
in Mississippi Tiral, 1955, R.C.
cannot understand why Hiram would be friendly to a black boy, much less share
his lunch with one. Like Winter, R.C. thinks people of different races should
stick to their own colors. Of course, in Mississippi
Trial, 1955, R.C. is talking about people fraternizing with their own race
on a basic friendship level and is not discussing having romantic relationships
that are biracial. He says, “White folk don’t share nothin’ with colored.” Even
those in the book who are not racist, like Hiram’s grandfather, understand the
unspoken social rule that “There is no friendship between whites and coloreds,
never should be, never will be.” In both Mississippi
Trial, 1955, and “I Like White Boys,” characters struggle with the
question, “But do I only get to like boys that look like me?” For Hiram and
Erika, skin color is just a color. But for R.C. and Winter, it’s much more than
that; race, for them, represents a set of social norms that are to be followed.
Random connection to my life: Race shapes and defines
characters’ identities in these stories, and adolescents can easily relate to
this. I went to a boarding school, and our student body was diverse. I had a
black friend who told me he was often harassed by other black students at my
school for “acting white,” so I feel like Erika’s story is very real to many of
our students.
I liked your pairing of these two stories. You don't hear about (well at least I haven't) stories/realities in which black people want to act like white people.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your post, I thought of a boy in my class from this past year who was white but tried to act "black." He was called a wigger by a few of the students. This is something I saw through high school and college too--quite the opposite of what was happening in "I like White Boys."
It's a shame that people are so harshly judged by their choices. Especially when it comes down to how they choose to shape their personalities. But sadly in the end, I don't think it really matters what choices we make...we'll all be judged in the end--whether we do the "right" or the "wrong" thing.