Garcia 1

Josue Garcia
Pro. Jackie
Eng. 113B
November 10, 2015
White and Black Power
Macon Detornay, a fictional character from the novel: Angry Black White Boy or The
Miscegenation of Macon Detornay by Adam Mansbach. Is a white boy who rejects his white,
Jewish culture and embraces the black culture after the night of Rodney King incident. Macon
like others saw the racial problem still occurring after the civil right movement and during the
novel Macon actions led him in the position to alter it. He had a view towards the racial
problems in society and took actions similar to a non-fictional black person who lived during the
civil rights movement, and had an important role in it. Although Macon and Malcolm are each
from a different race and lived in different times, they both had similarities in their approach to
the racial problems and their actions they did throughout their lives.
During their childhood Macon and Malcolm lived in completely different worlds.
Malcolm X lived during the heart of the civil rights movement and had a tragic childhood unlike
Macon Detornay who grew up after the civil rights movement in the suburbs of Boston. Since
Malcolm X was black and his father Earl Little, according to TheBiography.com Website [Was]
a preacher...an active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement
Association. [His] family faced frequent harassment from white Supremacist groups
(Biography.com Editors).
Which explains that Malcolm X was already in the middle of the racial problems growing up,
while Macon Detornay was simply a white Jewish boy who did not seem to care about the racial

Garcia 2
problems growing up until the events of Rodney King in April 29, 1992. In the novel Mansbach
writes, Tattooed on Macons biceps in small green characters was 4-29-92. Things changed
for me[said Macon](48-49). Which meant Macon had to witness something done terribly unfair
to black people for him to change his view towards racial problems, while Malcolm X had his
childhood to straighten his view towards racial problems. Even though Macon and Malcolm had
very different childhoods, they both ended up seeing the racial problems in society which led
them to do similar criminal acts.
When Macon was attending college in New York City, after the incident that changed
him, he had a growing hatred towards white people although though he was white. He got to the
point where he started robbing white people in a taxi cab he worked in, when the white
passengers would ask why, Macon considered the question for a moment Because youre an
ignorant white devil asshole, and you and everybody like you deserve to be robbed every day of
your life (Mansbach 24). His hatred towards white people for their ignorance and privileges
got him to commit crimes such as robbery. Malcolm X however, After quitting school. out on
his own on the streets of Boston Malcolm X became acquainted with the citys criminal
underground. and fell further into a life of drugs and crime (The Biography.com Editors).
Due to the racial problem Macon saw and Malcolm faced they both ended up doing crimes early
in their lives. Eventually Macon and Malcolm are each caught, in their perspective timeline and
are sent to jail. When both are sent to jail they both change somehow.
After their time in jail Macon and Malcolm both come out differently. When Macon was
bailed out by his friends he seems to achieve celebrity popularity, because of the fact that he is
white and had robbed other white people which was a big thing in the novel. When Macon
became famous he used his fame to create The Race Traitor Project (Mansbach 185). To help

Garcia 3
straighten the racial problems and status mainly between white and blacks. While Malcolm X
was never bailed out and served ten years in prison but while he was in there, according to
TheBiography.com website, he was visited by several siblings who had joined the Nation of
Islam who embraced the ideology of black nationalism (Biography.com editors). Once
Malcolm X converted to the Nation of Islam, he started to work for them and adopted the belief
that Blacks should separate themselves and govern themselves from the whites. Then he moved
up, Due primarily to the efforts of Malcom X, the Nation of Islam from a mere 400 members
to 40,000 members. Malcolm X had emerged as a leading voice of a radicalized wing of the
civil rights Movement (Biography.com Editors). Malcolm X went from being a criminal in
prison to being a national spokesman and a civil right activist. Same thing with Macon he went
from being a criminal in jail to a national celebrity. Both went from nobody to somebody, but
when they were somebodies something happened that they both started to second guess their
approach and beliefs to the racial problems.
It started when Macon agreed with one of Malcolm Xs idea, not only did he like it but he
made it happen. According to the novel when Macon was on national television somebody
mentioned it, Malcolm said whites should be walking up to every black person they pass on the
street and asking for forgiveness, but its never happened Its not a bad idea mused Macon.
Lets do it on behalf of the Race Traitor Project (Mansbach 204). Macon put one of
Malcolms idea to the test and did not work, instead caused a riot. At that point when things got
out of control, he was questioned about his leadership in Race Traitor Project and was challenged
to fix it. When Macon couldnt fix it and ran off instead, he started to second guess his view and
belief towards racial problems and went back to being a simple white boy who wouldnt care

Garcia 4
about the racial problems. Malcolm X suggested that same idea Macon used, before he second
guess his racial beliefs as well and changed it.
When Malcolm X eventually left the Nation of Islam due to problems between him and
the leader of that religion group. He started to second guess his racial belief as Chris Truman
explained on his website, However as he got older Malcolm X adapted his beliefs this was
almost certainly as a result of a pilgrimage he made to Mecca. he had embraced orthodox
Islam which included racial toleration (Truman). Malcolm X no longer believe in Black people
separating themselves from the white people, as he witnesses other religious practices being done
with white and black people together. Malcolm saw the flaws of his old beliefs and changed,
Macon could not handle the challenges he faced while being the down white black boy who
spoke for black people about the racial issues still occurring. Therefore, changed back to his old
self before the Rodney King incident. Malcolm and Macon both altered their view towards the
racial issues occurring in their individual time frame and their approach towards it, this of course
led to their deaths.
Macon and Malcolm lives came to an end for similar reasons but shown in a different
way. They both betrayed or left a group of people to seek what they really wanted to believe in,
like Malcolm X when he left the Nation of Islam and Macon when he betrayed his own kind for
an entirely different kind. Malcolm Xs biography describes his cause of death, Tragically, just
as Malcolm x appeared to be embarking on an ideological transformation he was assassinated.
the three men convicted of the assignation...were all members of the Nation of Islam (The
Biography.com Editors). Malcolm X departure from the Nation of Islam made the Nation of
Islam feel betrayed and they acted upon that which led to Malcolm Xs death. Similar to why
Macon died, Macon did not like white people and thought more for the black people but when

Garcia 5
things went south for him he started to second guess his belief and ran into some white people
who tested Macons beliefs. They gave him a rifle and force Macon to take a life of a black guy,
but he couldn't instead, Macon whirled off-balance, the rifle still on his shoulder and faced
Burleigh [a white guy] .... Macon squeezed the trigger, A hollow pop, nothing (Mansbach 331).
When Macon tried to prove he was white to other white people for the sake of his own life he
couldnt. Macon was still for black people and against his own white people which led to his
death.
Although Macon and Malcolm X where from a different race and entirely different
dimension they shared similar characteristics in their beliefs and actions. Both believe in black
people not being treated equally, they both disliked white people at certain point in their lives.
They also had a huge influence in the people that they stood for and were popular in their
perspective worlds. During the time that they both did lived they did similar crimes and spent
time in jail where they somehow transformed into something else. Then finally, they both died
for a similar reason, betraying a group of people that they were once part of. In the end they
believed in something and tried to change their worlds.

Garcia 6
Works Cited
Biograpghy.com Editors. TheBiography.com Website. A&E Television Networks. Web.
November 8, 2015.
C.N. Truman. Malcolm X. Historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, March 27,
2015. Web. November 9, 2015.
Mansbach, Adams. Angry Black White Boy or, The Miscegenation of Macon Detornay. New
York. Three Rivers Press, 2004 Print.