Blackness/Black Identity

Through this theme, the author establishes the joys inherent in the Black experience and the sense of community she feels with other members of her race. The celebration of these joys is in many ways a radical act, she believes, because of America's culture of white supremacy and centuries of Black oppression. This is precisely what the book's title represents: despite living in “a world made for whiteness,” the author is still present, maintaining her dignity and fighting for racial equality.

In the earlier chapters of the memoir, Brown draws from her personal experiences from childhood to highlight the challenges of establishing and maintaining Black pride as a young person in a predominantly white environment. Although she was rarely subjected to outright racism in her majority-white school, there were instances in which she felt alienated as one of only a few Black students. It was not...