Racism as a Tool of Disempowerment: A Study of Angie Thomas’s On the Come Up

Anju Mehra

Authors

Anju Mehra Anju Mehra, Associate Professor, Department of English and Foreign Languages, MDU, Rohtak https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4401-8611

Keywords:

Racism, Disempowerment, Identity, Microaggressions, Systemic Oppression, Empowerment

Abstract

Aims: This paper examines the theme of racism as a tool of disempowerment in Angie Thomas’s On the Come Up (2019). Accompanied by systemic racism, the novel depicts the life of a young black girl, Bri, who aspires to be a successful rapper.

Methodology and Approaches: Racism, alongside other elements like classism, sexism, and even Bri’s identity, heavily shaped Bri’s life throughout the novel. The focus of the paper is to explain how Bri, with her talent and determination to fight her circumstances, faces societal racism that restrains her from having complete agency.

Outcome: From the standpoint of microaggressions, racial stereotypes, and the demand to be a representative of a race, the analysis tries to make sense of the different dimensions of their burdens alongside racism as a tool used to suppress marginalized groups of people systematically rather than through mere prejudice.

Conclusion and Suggestions: The study highlights how racism operates not only through overt prejudice but also through systemic practices that limit the agency and potential of marginalized individuals, emphasizing the need to recognize and challenge such oppressive structures.

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Author Biography

Anju Mehra, Anju Mehra, Associate Professor, Department of English and Foreign Languages, MDU, Rohtak

Dr. Anju Mehra is presently working as an Associate Professor of English in the Department of English and Foreign Languages at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana. She has been teaching for more than fifteen years and has contributed extensively to the field of research and publication. She has to her credit the publication of 5 books and 30 research papers in international and national journals and edited books. She has presented papers at more than 50 conferences in India and abroad. She has delivered many extension lectures and has chaired technical sessions in conferences. Her thrust areas of research include English Literature, American Literature, African American Literature, and Cultural Studies. She is a research guide and thesis reviewer.