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LaTierra Taylor
Professor Jackie
English 113B
8 December 2015
Black Vs. White Vs. Other Races
Racial stereotypes play a part of human lives every day and people do not pay attention.
When people think about a typical white male, they may think of blonde hair, blue eyes, a
skateboarder, or a surfer; when thinking of a white female they may think slim, loves Chipotle
and Starbucks and are very proper. When they think of a Middle Eastern person, they may think
of that person being a terrorist and of them being involved with the Nation OF Islam. When they
think of a black male they believes he automatically likes rap music, are involved with gangs and
are criminals. When they think of a black female they may think of her being promiscuous, loud,
ghetto, and uneducated. Racial stereotypes in the world today, goes hand in hand with people's
identities' and racial ignorance. People pre judge others without getting to know them first, but
what people have yet to understand is that ideally it is not their fault as the human race. In the
novel Angry Black White Boy by Adam Mansbach, the author demonstrates how racial
stereotyping his character's identities provides commentary and describes how subverted racial
stereotypes can because of the racial confusion and white privilege of the main character.
In the beginning of the novel, Mansbach give his audience the reason to believe that the
main character, Macon Detornay, is half black. As readers continue on with the story, one finds
out that Macon is this white boy from Boston, who believes he is the blackest white boy alive.
The author contains racial stereotypes here to prove the point that being black does not mean you
have to engage in the African American culture. The novel takes place when Macon goes off to
college where he tries to prove himself of being down for the black people. From the start of the
book, one can come to the conclusion that Macon Is indeed a person who strongly supports the
"being black in America" cause. From the time he was a little boy, he would listen to rap music

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and from there learned about a very common black influencer, Malcolm X. At the age of 13
Macon then set out to prove he was the downest white boy in history, he attended hip-hop
concerts wear Malcolm X t-shirts waiting for someone to question him being there she he would
be able to school them on how much he knew so he would gain their approval. The older Macon
got the more he embraced his inner black ways and continued on to his college life.
As Macon starts his journey of a college student he also gets himself a job as a cab driver,
to help him through school. During his encounters of driving around one night, Macon comes
across two wealth white men who are having a interesting but yet disturbing conversation. as
they are riding around in the back of the cab, Macon gets asked to lower his hip-hop music that is
playing from the radio. That then causes the two men to start a conversation about the night
before about what one observed late form a group of young black males outside his home.
Mansbach describes "... is how can they afford forty-thousands-dollar cars. With custom
stereos. We're in the wrong business bro.... go get an Addias sweatsuit and find myself a nice
street corner. Sell a little crack..."( 21). The author chose the character to say these interesting
choice of words because he was going for a type on the black man, and the typical way a black
man provides for himself in societies mind is though selling drugs. So by giving his character
this line the author is trying to get his point across on how people assume and prejudge others by
the color of their skin. Macon becomes furious and at that moment and comes up with the perfect
crime and robs the two men then before kicking them out of his cab. Now in Macon's mind, he is
again proving himself to be down for the cause because the men would never assume another
white man to rob them. But what Macon fails to realize is that he hid himself from the men,
which then lead their personal ignorance to kick in and automatically assume that the robbery
was done by a black man.

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Now going back to racial stereotyping, the author of the novel is includes this part to
demonstrate how people are taught to believe what they do. On the news, one can show a story
on how a black man robbed someone at gun point which then causes the audience of the airing
then to believe black men rob. The media and what people are told are what causes ones to have
the assumptions that they do. The gentleman in the back of the cab never confirmed the young
black man's occupation that night because he was living comfortably with his money and he
assumed that he was a drug dealer. The timing of the book taking place, back when hip-hop first
started off, so many whites believed all blacks were thugs and drug dealers due to the fact of the
lyrics that were sung and rapped. The men in the back of the cab had nothing else but to believe
that was a black man robbing them because that was what was proclaimed. However Macon still
is seen in the book to supporting the black culture and soon begins to down his own culture and
talk about them as if he is not one of them.
Mansbach still uses his main character to show the racial confusion because when Macon
is robbing the two gentlemen, he tells them, "Because you're an ignorant white devil asshole, and
you and everybody like you deserve to be robbed every day of your life"(p. 24). When Macon
says this, he again makes himself seem as if he is black. He also makes the assumption upon
himself that he hates white people even though he is indeed white himself. Macon is also faced
with another challenge when his roommate arrives to their dorm, who he requested because of
their great grandfathers' relationship with one another in the past. Macon feels the need to begin
a friendship with Andre so that he could prove to himself that he is nothing like his racist greatgrandfather. When the two fist meet, Macon throws his I know all you can know about hip-hop
charm on Dre hopping to again gain his approval like he would every other black person he
befriended. However, Macon did not realize that he himself also faced stereotypic and qualities
of his own. When he makes that connection with Dre, but again he does not realize that he is

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assuming all black men listen to rap, "... the type to assume that any black kid he met was a rap
head."(Mansbach 34). Andre thinks this to himself as he listens to his new roommate talk.
Although rap was first created by blacks, Macon has it in his mindset that any blacks he meets
have embraced the African-American culture like he claims to do and are involved like his
buddies back home in Boston.
The purpose of this stereotype was the author's way if pointing out the two levels of
subvertity that he tries to address. He also hopes to bring out the talk of white privilege since no
one else tries to approach. While speaking at San Francisco State University, Mansbach explains
some of his purpose to a class. "The first a subervtity to the fact that such a system of suppressed
races has been placed in this country for so long and have been allowed to savage of
lives"(YouTube). Here the author is basically saying that by putting what he did in his book, it
was his was of pointing out the issue that this country face. He was also trying to point out, how
could a country that claims to be for its people teach those people that stereotypes are okay and
would be accepted. Mansbach purpose was to show that others did not think about and in hops
that people got that point he speaks out further to students at different universities.
The author than continues further, as he continues explaining to the students, "...of the
ways of which we are all sort of forced to these herneticy sealed identities around race, class...
ect bubble around us and we narrate the world in occasion able in these bubbles"(YouTube).
Here the author is saying that in America racism is what people are taught. We are taught to
assume that one race automatically higher than others due to the color of their skin and when
they come from. We are taught to ignore the fact that people as individuals are different in their
own way. We are taught to assume that because of a handful of some people n a race, the race as
a whole behaves that exact same way. The novel goes on as people still assume that the crimes
are committed buy a black man.

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By this point of the story, Macon has robbed another white man just for the hell of it to
again teach the what man a lesson. He has also befriended his roommate and Dre's friend from
Compton Dominique. He has also explained his theory on how "white people aren't evil, but evil
is white people"(Mansbach 18). Again, Macon has fooled people to believing that he seems to
truly be down for black people with his rants about how schools do not teach everything there is
to be know about black history. Macon starts to come to reality with the stereotyping being
formed about the robberies he committed.
Now in the novel, we come to a point that Macon has found out the people he has robbed
has described him as a black man. In Macon mind this is the exact opposite of what he wanted.
He wanted to show whites that nor just blacks are criminals. As Macon drives around he picks up
a women around her late twenties where he learns what he is being described to people.
Mansbach writes, "...He's some kind of black militant wacko...he robs white people and the cops
can't find him. Nobody knows what he looks like... I don't want to get rapped."(p. 108) Hearing
this makes Macon's blood boiled while the woman is not aware that the "he" she is talking about
is really Macon. He then decides to make it be obviously known he is doing the robberies. He
picks up a older man later that night and makes his race noticeable before robbing him and
kicking him out of the cab. Macon soon find out the consequences for his actions and again
confuses people on what his true intentions for all of this nonsense was really for.
Macon gets caught and is arrested by the police while in class. While in the police's
custody, he gets questioned by the officers of his loyalty to black people. However, Macon does
not seem too down for the cause at this point of his life once getting abused by one of the
officer's. After arriving to the jail he automatically brings up the fact that he is a white privilege.
Here Macon contradicts himself with that statement by assuming what he did was not wrong and
if he was black then that would make him in a jail cell more logical. His friends then bail him out

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and he has media waiting to question his actions. Nique believes this a perfect time to use Macon
as a black spokesperson and earn money in the process. The guys then decided to do talk shows,
radio shows and even a slam poem reading. Again, Macon is back on with the cause. He then
comes up with an idea, a Day of Apology where white people come to apologize to blacks for
what they went through. As the day processes, things go a different direction, when a group of
black boys try to get Macon to apologize, but he again changes his mind about being down for
the cause and says he is exempt from this movement which then causes conflictions between his
group. When three people are killed, Macon realizes that this was a bad idea. He then gets on TV
to tell everyone to go home and that the day was a mistake. He also confesses he is not the
person he tired too hard to be then robs the cameraman and flees to the deep south where he
decided he is going to become a white liberal man like his parents.
During his flee, he writes a letter again confusing the audience making it seem like he is
for black people. He meets people where he is tested to prove if he is really "white" again. But
again, Macon is confused and does not know what he wants because when things get heated
again he decided that he could not change his heart of the love for the black people "Without
realizing first and format that his whiteness cannot be erased or 'Blackened' on the
surface"(Estremera 53). As this student described in her essay, also Macon throughout the novel
Macon thought that if suppressed his white thoughts with the black ones he would not be
considered a white devil that he described in the novel.
In conclusion, the novel is a great example of stereotypes and the racial identity problems
many face in life. One cannot deny who they are, but they are able to change. Macon Detornay
was someone who knew the issues that accrued in the world but went about it all the wrong
ways. He also subjected himself to being the same way he tried so hard not be. He had to realize
and admit to being like other whites before he could try to change or help anyone else change. As

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you get to know the character Macon, it becomes obvious that he is a bright young man who sees
the errors of the world. However, because of the ways one is raised to think form the time they
are able to talk his call to action to change they ways and thoughts of the world backfired and
and at the cost Macon his life.

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Works Cited
Esremera, Cynthia. Cultural Miscegenation and the Surveillance of Blackness through White
Privilege in Adam Manscach's Angry Black White Boy. Navigating The Miscegenation
Identity: Failure, Success And The Post-Racial Conflict In Johnson, Hurston, And
Mansbach.. ProQuest LLC. 2014. p. 53. Print
Mansbach, Adam. Angry Black White Boy Or The Miscegenation Of Macon Detnornay. New
York: Three Rivers Press. 2005. Print.
Mansbach, Adam. "Adam Mansbach @ San Francisco State". YouTube. YouTube, 30 June
2009. Web.
.