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LaTierra Taylor
English 113B
Professor Jackie
November 10, 2015
Black Vs. White Vs. Other Races
Racial stereotypes play a part of the human being lives every day that people do not pay
attention. When people think about a typical white male, you think of blonde hair, blue eyes, a
skateboarder, or a surfer; when thinking of a white female you think slim, loves Chipotle and
Starbucks and are very proper. When you think of a Middle Eastern person, you think of terrorist
and of them being involved with the Nation OF Islam. When you think of a black male you
believe they automatically likes rap music, are involved with gangs and are criminals. When you
think of a black female you think of her being promiscuous, loud, ghetto, and uneducated. Racial
stereotypes in the world today unbeknownst ties into people 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 our fault as the human race. In the novel Angry Black White
boy by Adam Mansbach, the author demonstrates how racial stereotyping his characters
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 the story, 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 of 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 may 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 can would listen

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to rap music 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 downiest white boy in history, he attended hiphop 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.
As Macon starts his journey of a college student he also gets himself a job to help him
through school as a cab driver. 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 last night form a group of young black males outside his
home. "... 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..."(Mansbach 21). Macon becomes furious and at that moment comes up with the perfect
crime and robs the two men then kicking them out of his cab. Now in Macon's mind he his again
proving himself to be down for the cause because the men would never assume another white
men 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.
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 believe black men rob. The media and what people are told are what causes ones to have the
assumptions that they due. The gentleman in the back of the cab never confirmed the young
black men occupation that night because he was living comfortably with his money he assumes

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that he was a drug dealer. Because of the lyrics to many songs at the time the men in the cab had
nothing else to believe that that is what black men do what their lives.
The Mansbach still uses his main character to show the racial confusion because when
Macon is robbing the two gentlemen he tells "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 making 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 remand a friendship with Andre so that he could prove to himself that he is nothing like
his racist great-grandfather. 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 realized that he himself also faced stereotypic and
qualities of his own. When he makes that connection with Dre he does not realize that he is
assuming that all blacks listen to rap and his roommate takes not of that stereotype when they are
still in the process of filling one another out, "... the type to assume that any black kid he met was
a rap head."(Mansbach 34). Although rap was first created by blacks, Macon has it in his mine
the set 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 authors 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

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lives"(YouTube). Here the author is basically saying that buy putting what he did in his book it
was his was of pointing out the issue that this country face and how could a country what claims
to be for the people teach people these stereotypes and treat non white races have been treated.
The author than continues with his explain further, 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 American racism is what he talk. We taught
to assume that one race automatically classify themselves in a certain social class. 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.
Mansbach writes further through the novel, "... Course the only description they have is
that the dude is black."(p.55). Buy 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 befriends 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 is rants about how schools do not
tech everything there is to be taught about black history, taking up and black course and joining
and long with interrupting a BSU (Black Student Union) meeting.
Now in the novel we come to a point that Macon has found out the people he has robbed
has describes himself as a black man. This is Macon minds is the exact 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

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Macon's blood boiling 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 gets caught and is arrested by the police while in class. While in the polices
custody he gets questioned by the officers of his loyalty to black people. However Macon does
not seem to 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 and
he has media waiting to question his actions. Nique believes this a perfect time to use Macon as
black spokes person 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 turn a for the worst 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 to hard to be then robs the cameraman and flee 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. during his flee 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

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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 Angry Black White Boy, is a great demonstrate of the stereotypes
and racial identify problems many face in life. One cannot deny who they are buy they are able
to change. Macon Detornay was someone who knew they issues that accrued in the world but
went about it all the wrong way. He had to realize and admit to being like other whites before he
could try to change or help anyone else change.

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Works Cited
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.
Esremera, Cynthia. Navigating The Miscegenation Identity: Failure, Success And The PostRacial Conflict In Johnson, Hurston, And Mansbach. Cultural Miscegenation and the
Surveillance of Blackness through White Privilege in Adam Manscach's Angry Black
White Boy. ProQuest LLC. 2014. p. 53. Print.