A Good Neighborhood

Both implicit and explicit racism occur throughout the novel, and though Brad displays the most severe racism, others in the community also hold racist views. Implicit racism refers to indirect or unintentional biases, and most everyone holds implicit bias, which is often imparted by larger cultural beliefs. Explicit racism is direct or intentional racism. While many believe implicit bias is not as bad as explicit bias, the novel demonstrates how such biases have damaging effects.

The narrators of the story draw attention to their implicit racism, such as when they admit that they commodified Valerie and Tom when they moved to the area by feeding off of their progressive image. Some members of the community are biased against Xavier before he is accused of rape, and the narrators state that they are “mostly older white folks—who scowl[] at him or avoid[] him, or watch[] him” (27). The collective narrators also demonstrate racism after Xavier is accused of rape and they gossip about whether Xavier is guilty. Kelli is convinced that Xavier is guilty, and she becomes defensive when Ellen asks, “Are you maybe saying that because you’re white and he’s not?” (264) Esther displays explicit racism, however, when she announces that she and her husband think that Xavier hates white people.

Brad holds explicit racist views, but his racism comes across as implicit in the beginning of the story before his character is fully developed. Brad thinks that, because Xavier is Black, he is a worker rather than a resident of Oak Knoll, which is a nice community that is going through gentrification. His reaction to Valerie saying that she is single is also an act of implicit racism, as he assumes that Xavier’s father left her. After he is served with the lawsuit, Brad ceases to hide his overt racism. He speaks offensively about Valerie and refers to her as “some Black” woman (200). Likewise, he is explicitly racist when he accuses Xavier of rape because he believes that he will be believed over Xavier because the teenage boy is Black. Xavier’s assumed guilt by the justice system, the community, and larger society also reflects the racism that is held in society.

Xavier questions racism in society in multiple scenes. He is frustrated because he is half white, but that does not seem to matter to anyone, and he is perceived only as Black. At the same time, he is mocked by his friend for being “white” because he does not behave like a stereotypical Black male teenager. Xavier tries to ignore the racism that he endures earlier in his life, although it makes an emotional impact. He feels unable to tolerate the extreme racism he experiences as a result of the criminal accusations. He sees how prevalent and extreme racism is in the country, which climaxes in the attack that destroys his hand. The racism he experiences is emotionally and mentally devastating, and it is the root cause of Xavier’s death.