Brownies

Tyson poses the question "What can the work teach us about the specifics of African heritage, African American culture and experience, and/or African American history?" (p. 394). "Brownies" illustrates the marginalization of the black girls in this story and the prejudice they have felt directed at them because of their race. Immediately upon seeing the "caucasians" they decide to beat them up, claiming the white girls called them "niggers". The very presence of these white girls makes their skin crawl with anger. This shows the hatred they have felt in their own lives from other cultures, particularly white people (look at their history - specifically slavery in America). As I looked through the terms in the book, Internalized racism stood out to me. The definition is "the psychological programming by which a racist society indoctrinates people of color to believe in white superiority". Although these girls are fiercely fighting against this idea, it is clear that their ideas and perceptions of the white girls has been impacted by culture. The view the girls "real and memorable, with their long, shampoo-commercial hair". They view them as elite "white girls and their mothers coo-cooing over dresses" in Rich's clothing store and they have seen white business men swish by "importantly". These girls are viewed as "ponytailed and full of energy, bubbling over with love and money." The society they live in has told them they are the lesser of the two cultures and the very fact that they fight against these white girls and their "long spaghetti straight hair" tells that they truly do believe in a white superiority. The hegemony, or dominance of the whites, is evident to these young girls.