Sharon G. Flake’s I like White Boys

In Sharon G. Flake’s I like White Boys, the protagonist of the story, Erika, is facing a constant battle with the effects her race have on her.

        It is clear from the beginning that Erika is not your stereotypical black girl when the story starts out with her telling her best friend, Winter, “I like white boys.”  (pg. 90). Winter replies, “I only like boys that look like me. Brown. Black.  As sweet as cho-co-lat.” (pg. 90).

        Flake wrote these stories based on people she knew—experiences she had witnessed and had been a part of. Because this story happened in the early 2000s, race was (and in some cultures/regions STILL) still an issue under many circumstances including biracial relationships. Erika is looked down upon by her peers at as not following the norms—liking “her kind.” She only sits with them (the black kids) every third Friday of the month, because that’s when Winter gets to choose where they sit in the cafeteria.Most of them think she’s a snob because she corrects them when they call her “Er’ka” instead of Erika. (pg. 96). Melvin, one of Erika’s black peers mocks her after she corrects him when he says, “It’s Erika. So say it the right way—the white way. (pg. 96).

But even Winter, her best friend, talks behind her back about the idea of her liking white guys and acting “white” because she finds it so unusual. Winter even insinuates to Erika that she knows she wishes she were right; she corrects reminds Erika that they are “ghetto girls” after Erika tries to fix her grammar. Winter says, “Ain’t ain’t a bad word, anyhow, we’re from the ghetto, right?” (pg.91).

Erika never ends up being with a white boy, maybe it’s because she’s black, or maybe it’s just because the boy (Johnny) she was chasing after already had a girlfriend. Either way, her race was against her.