93 pages • 3 hours read
Brendan Kiely, Jason ReynoldsA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
In All American Boys, combating racism isn’t as simple as treating people equally on an individual level. Rather, as characters like Quinn and Jill discover, racism is so deeply ingrained in American culture and institutions that fighting it requires a complete shift of perspective, an understanding that racism is “everywhere and all mixed up in everything” (292), and then a choice to speak out and take action in order to affect real change.
The novel begins with a clear, overt act of racism, as police officer Paul Galluzzo beats Rashad hard enough to break ribs, despite there being no evidence Rashad has done anything wrong. Paul calls Rashad one of the “fuckin’ thugs” who “can’t just do what [he’s] told” (23)—an opinion he clearly holds about African-Americans in general, not just Rashad. However, the initial responses to this act reveal how deeply racial prejudices are ingrained in American culture, as Rashad’s own father blames him for what happened. David berates his son for not following his advice: “Never fight back. Never talk back. Keep your hands up” (50). African-Americans like David place the responsibility of deterring racism not on the whites, who make prejudiced judgments, but on blacks, who must anticipate and avoid these judgments by changing their own behavior—and even their identities.
By these authors
Ain't Burned All the Bright
Ain't Burned All the Bright
Jason Reynolds
As Brave As You
As Brave As You
Jason Reynolds
For Every One
For Every One
Jason Reynolds
Ghost
Ghost
Jason Reynolds
Long Way Down
Long Way Down
Jason Reynolds
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
Jason Reynolds
Lu
Lu
Jason Reynolds
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Miles Morales: Spider-Man
Jason Reynolds
Patina
Patina
Jason Reynolds
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds
Stuntboy, in the Meantime
Stuntboy, in the Meantime
Jason Reynolds
Sunny
Sunny
Jason Reynolds
The Boy in the Black Suit
The Boy in the Black Suit
Jason Reynolds
When I Was the Greatest
When I Was the Greatest
Jason Reynolds