Aceves 1

Sergio G Aceves
Professor Jackie
English 114B
3/24/15
Word Count: 2122

Who is on Macons Side?

Being pitted against two ethnicities can really be a handful. It might even make someone
change what they believe in from their own ethnicity. That was the deal with Macon Detornay. In
the novel Angry Black White Boy, by Adam Mansbach, a young man named Macon struggles in
New York trying to make African American culture a huge part of his life. The problem is
nobody else sees what he believes in and instead calls him a crazy race traitor. So what he does
is try to get everyone to know that white Americans are, in fact, the worst race of them all. His
performance and identity formation in the novel really does prove his point across and only a few
others understand what hes going through. Throughout the novel, Macon encounters a number
of people who understand his cause; these people are his friends Andre, Dominique, and Logan.
And just like Macon, all their performances in the novel help Macons cause because each one
contributes to who Macon becomes in the end.
Macon Detornay is a suburban, middle class, white boy from Boston, Massachusetts who
is very into black culture and even considers himself a white nigger in the universe (Mansbach
1). Not only that, he is filled with rage towards white Americans and chooses to abandon his own
whiteness. One of the reasons he might feel this way may be because of his great-grandfather,
Cap Anson, a star baseball player whose harmful racism helped keep baseball re-segregated until
the 1940s. In Stig Jantzs article, Anson was the bully who drew the color line in the dirt and

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dared African-Americans to cross it (3rd Paragraph). Unlike other white kids, Macon can be
seen wearing clothes that dont really fit his image. He wears a Malcolm X T-shirt and insanely
baggy pants. Whats even more of a twist is that Macon is also Jewish and sports a tattoo with
the date, 4-29-92, the date the verdict had been passed down onto Rodney King, the day Los
Angeles had burned (Mansbach 48). So thats already a red flag towards the Jewish race of
being reminded of the Holocaust of being branded and having a number. While being very
informed of most of the history of African American leaders and events, Macon also has a
passion for poems and getting his opinions out; even though they are not very good poems, he
feels compelled to let everyone know what he thinks and about his feelings towards white
people.
After moving to New York City for college, Macon begins robbing white passengers in
the taxicab he drives part-time, setting off a chain of events. He does this because he wants to get
back at white people. His reasons arent very clear on why he does this but its mostly because he
feels compelled to punish white people for the four hundred years of oppression theyve done to
black people. Macon idolizes Malcolm X and in some regards considers himself to be the new
Malcolm X; he wants to be able to make a difference in the black community by assuring that all
African Americans get the respect that they deserve while at the same time trying to bash his
own race in front of thousands of people. While being into poetry and black culture, Macon is
also way into hip hop and graffiti art. He used to learn under an artist named CAP but decided to
stop tagging for a while. Even though Macon can seem like a hard ass, hes really a nice guy.
Hardly anything even makes Macon mad. The only things that seem to tick Macon off the most
has to be dumb people with dumb responses to what he says, i.e. white people on the Day of
Apology, and when other black people dont recognize him as an ally and gets turned down. In

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retaliation, Macon goes to learn and study about African American history and culture. Thats
why when he was thirteen and wearing a Malcolm X T-shirt and when people asked him,
Whatchu know about that man? (Mansbach 17), he was ready to not hold back with
information about Malcolms life. And in an instance he would watch all their expressions
change, falling into Macons trap. So when he decides to create a movement for white people to
give back to black people, it was obvious both would not understand what he was asking for, but
Macon was confident that this will would work, and of course he wasnt alone in making his
cause a reality.
The first person Macon met in New York, besides the people he robbed in the beginning,
was a young man by the name of Andre Walker. Macon was going to Columbia University and
decided to pick his own roommate. He saw by the names that Andre also moved to New York
and at the same time, going to attend Columbia U. So Macon thought it was a good idea for him
to be his roommate just because they were both new to living in New York.
Andre Walker is a 58 -59 African American boy whos attending Columbia University.
He first meets Macon when he walks into their dorm. He greets him normally like theyve been
friends forever, but then starts being sceptic of Macon. Macon, out of nowhere, decides to break
the tension between him and Andre by saying that Cap Anson was his grandfather. Macon was
hoping for a reaction from Andre because his grandfather was also a baseball player in the 1880s.
According to Stig Jantzs article, Anson refused to play in an exhibition with the Toledo Blue
Stockings and their catcher, Moses Fleetwood Walker (4th Paragraph), Andres grandfather.
Macon was hoping that there wouldnt be any hard feelings, but Andre didnt really care. Andre
doesnt really get fazed with that kind of stuff, but to be safe he doesnt want Macon to mention
to anybody else. They talked for a while and got to know each other really well after smoking a

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joint and listening to some music. Andre is the kind of person who doesnt like to start any
trouble but will gladly help his friends with jobs and tasks. Hes sometimes quiet and in some
ways wants to be a peacemaker. Throughout Macons popularity scene, Andre has been helping
and giving him advice so that he doesnt screw up anything when hes doing interviews. In other
words, hes Macons right-hand man. Not only is Andre helpful to Macons cause, hes basically
the one who helps start Macons popularity by bailing him out of jail. The bail was 25 grand, he
used Macons 4 grand to help a little bit, but Andre decided to pay the rest of the 21 grand
himself. Out of shock Macon says, Ive known you four days. Why would you and Andres
response, Ive decided to believe in you until you give me a reason not to (Mansbach 149).
This shows in only a short amount of time that Andre is willing to help anyone whos desperately
in need of assistance and has a good reason for it. Back when they first met, Andre and Macon
decide to leave campus and walk around New York to go and pay a visit to Andres old friend
from high school, Dominique.
Dominique Lavar, or Nique for short, is a lanky African American boy whos attending
NYU and is Andres old high school buddy. Just like Andre, Nique was also skeptical about
Macon when they first met but then got over it after a lengthy discussion about a picture Nique
had hanging in his dorm. The picture Nique had was a framed shot of Rodney King being
assaulted by police officers. The only words Macon had to say were, Nice picture (Mansbach
47), and thats when Nique went off on Macon. In Niques response, Nice? Either you got a real
limited vocabulary or a serious problem. Aint nothing nice about the shit (Mansbach 47). At
that moment Macon shows his tattoo to Nique. Dumbfounded, Nique says, Mufucker got a
Rodney King tattoo? Shit, I thought I was black (Mansbach 48). So Nique is that kind of person
who gets offended and mad easily but can know when to let it go in an instance. So then they

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talked some more on why Macon was this way and earned the respect of Nique. And thats why
in the novel it says, Black peoples friendships meant nothing unless they were suspicious of
whites (Mansbach 49). Almost all the time, Nique is always polite to new people; and with
Macon it was easy for him to understand him and become friends. As for a job, Nique considers
himself as a young black entrepreneur. What that means is that hes actually a drug dealer; and he
only reason he hasnt been caught is because of his foolproof plan by working at tollbooths all
over New York. Nique calls it unsupervised hand-to-hand transactions. And with that, Nique can
also be clever and cocky in some regard. Even though Nique is confortable and polite with
everyone, he does, however, feel oppressed by police officers. So one day to get back at all
police officers, he pissed on his friends car waiting for him to show up just so he can beat him
up because his friends dad is a cop. And by doing this, Nique believe by beating up an officers
kid would show them a lesson. To most, Nique is a nice guy, but to some he is a real prick.
During Macons Race Traitor Project, Nique was considered to be Macons manager in a
way by booking all his interviews, and when Macon was on the brink of giving up and running
away, Nique stepped in and took charge and spoke to all the white people who were all too
confused to follow directions. Not only that, but his speech to them was pretty much exactly how
Macon wouldve wanted to word it. So pretty much Nique is all over the place, he a nice person,
mostly, a good friend and has more than what it takes to be leader.
The last person that Macon meets and can actually relate to is a nice, kind girl named
Logan. Logan is a white, blonde, skinny girl with a number of tattoos all over her body. Macon
firsts meets her during a poetry slam one night at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Shes very cool,
calm and collected and isnt afraid to make fun of the poets preforming. After hearing her
comments about the first couple of poets, Macon decides to start a conversation with her. Her

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response to Macon when he asks if she comes here a lot was, Just enough to remind myself why
it sucks (Mansbach 73). She then continues saying that, Theyre performers, not poets
(Mansbach 73), meaning that she has a knack for seeing people for who they really are. Later in
the night, Macon goes up to perform his own poem and Logan listens and is semi-impressed by
his writing. She told him it was okay and decides to leave the building after giving Macon her
number.
The second time Macon meets Logan was after he was released from prison and after he
read another one of his poems to a public crowd. Macon then introduces Logan to Andre and
Nique and says that he met her one night at the Nuyorican. Impressed by Macons popularity she
adds, Back when he was a nobody (Mansbach 177). At that moment Logan realizes Macons
potential and decides to stick around with all three of them. Andre and Nique werent too sure
about Logan at first because she was an unimpressive-looking girl, but then started to gain a
liking to her when she mentions that shes also a financial consultant, meaning she tells
companies how to spend their money (Mansbach 183). With this type of info in mind, they let
Logan stick around for assistance and for company. While helping the trio with financial matters,
Logan also helps settle problems and disputes between the three of them, either interview wise or
campaign wise.
Macon Detornay is a white Jewish kid living in and African American life, and he is okay
with it. He doesnt care that much if people turn him down just because hes a race traitor. All
that matters is that he gets his point across and hopes to change peoples thoughts. With his
friend Andres and his ideas and assistance, Nique with his leadership and resourcefulness, and
Logan with her financial expertise, Macon can overcome any trial ahead of him. With all his
close friends by his side, Macon just might be able to help change New York.

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Works Cited
Jantz, Stig. "Hidden history: Hall of Famer Cap Anson was baseball's best player and
most strident racist." Sport May 1993: 70. General OneFile. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Mansbach, Adam. Angry Black White Boy, Or the Miscegenation of Macon Detornay: A
Novel. New York: Three Rivers, 2005. Print.