"All American Boys": Quotes Representing The Theme of Racism

Racism and Prejudice is one of the most serious and pernicious situations in our world today. All American Boys essay by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely is about two young men, Rashad Butler and Quinn Collins, one black and one white, whose lives are forever changed by an act of extreme police brutality. The novel definitely opens the reader’s eyes to think about what people of different color might fear or go through in their lives. The novel also demonstrates how each race is being treated differently, mostly from police officers, they mainly have a bias towards their people (people of their ethnicity; white). Following this, prejudice and racism is one of the major themes throughout this novel. It doesn’t only affect Rashad’s life in the beginning of the book but it eventually starts to affect Quinn’s life as you get further into the book.

“Hey, Will, I said into the picture. This is for you. Ma’s always telling us to take responsibility. That we have to live up to what dad died for. We need to get good grades and go to college and take advantage of every damn minute of our lives because he died for us. I believe that. But I believe he died for this, too. If he died for freedom and justice-well, what the hell did he die for if it doesn’t count for all of us”?

Quinn declares his father’s legacy and the true meaning of All American. American values should be given to all citizens regardless of race and that is what Quinn is protesting for. He is trying to emphasize that if freedom and justice doesn’t count for every American then what did their dad die for? Quinn is trying to pass down the values of what it means to be a American to his brother so he shows what his dad died for.

“I just wanted him to stop beating me. I just wanted to live. Each blow earthquake my insides, crushing parts of me and never seen, parts of me I never knew were there. ‘Fuckin thug’s can’t do what you’re told. Need to learn how to respect authority. And I’m gonna teach you, he taunted, and was whispering in my ear”.

Rashad’s thoughts of being beaten shows how brutal Officer Paul Galluzzo attack was. Rashad is not even sure if he will survive. Officer Galluzzo is clearly using a level of force that is immensely unnecessary for the situation with Rashad. Furthermore Officer Galluzzo’s comments about “fuckin thugs” show that his attack on Rashad is not personally aimed at Rashad but an act motivated by his prejudice against African-Americans and his need to show his power.

“All I wanted to do was see the guy I hadn’t seen one week earlier. The guy beneath all the bullshit too many of us see first-especially white guys like me who just haven’t worked hard enough to look behind it all”.

This quote represents Quinn’s realization of how to fight racism by him and his fellow white Americans learning to see individuals as they truly are rather than their stereotypes. and shows his own maturity. This quote also shows Quinn growing as a young man. For Quin, learning to see others as they truly are and taking his own time and effort to do so shows that he is truly learning about who he wants to be. He realizes that the nation needs to see people how they truly are to fight against racism.

To conclude the essay, racism and prejudice is not something that is being taken seriously in our lives today and it is not treated with the proper actions that should be taken. Rashad tries to find the strength to accept his role as a symbolic figure of the community’s response to police brutality, likewise, Quinn tries to decide where he belongs in a town bitterly divided by racial tension. Ultimately, the two narratives weave back together, in the moment in which the two boys, changed, can actually see each other, the first step for healing and understanding in a country still deeply sick with racial injustice. “As black man and a white man, both writers and educators, we came together to cowrite a book about how systemic racism and police brutality affect the lives of young people in America, in order to create an important, unique, and honest work that would give young people and the people who educate them a tool for talking about these difficult but absolutely vital conversations,” said Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiley.

Works Cited

1. Reynolds, J., & Kiely, B. (2015). All American Boys. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.
2. McKnight, K. (2017). Racism and Prejudice in Young Adult Literature: An Analysis of Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys. The ALAN Review, 45(2), 70-77.
3. Buzbee, L. (2016). Engaging with Difficult Topics in the Classroom: Teaching All American Boys. Signal Journal, 10(1), 18-30.
4. Irizarry, Y. (2019). "It could happen to anyone": Teaching All American Boys in a Diverse Classroom. English Journal, 108(3), 73-79.
5. Davis, C. J. (2017). Tensions in Teaching All American Boys: An Analysis of the "Blue Lives Matter" vs. "Black Lives Matter" Debate. The ALAN Review, 44(1), 34-41.
6. Henson, C. (2018). Not Just Another Book about Racism: Using All American Boys to Foster Conversation. Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 33(1), 48-54.
7. Reynolds, J., & Kiely, B. (2016). Why We Wrote All American Boys. Horn Book Magazine, 92(1), 19-23.
8. Broz, V. (2018). Talking Back to the Text: Building Empathy through Critical Conversations in All American Boys. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(3), 287-297.
9. Mays, J. (2019). Experiences and Perspectives: Examining Racism and Police Brutality through All American Boys. Young Adult Library Services, 18(1), 25-29.
10. Fisher, B. (2018). Teaching Racial Literacy with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely's All American Boys. ALAN Picks, 13(1), 1-3.

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