Commentary: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
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There is A LOT about this book that makes it amazing and even more that I don’t feel worthy to speak to. Before I go on, I’ll briefly say: Angie Thomas’s On the Come Up kept my eyes glued to the page. Each chapter raised the stakes, yet made me fall more in love with each character. I mean, my heart was seriously beating so fast sometimes. I’ve never sweat so much over a book.
There are many things I could talk about with this masterful novel. Rap, hip-hop, police brutality, racism, rebellion, young love, friendship, poverty, expectations, assumptions. But honestly who am I to speak to any of those things? What I will say is this:
Any book that makes fun of White people this much is desperately needed.
Thomas’s Black characters make plenty of jokes about White people and our stupid shit. And it’s amazing. We White people have never really been the brunt of jokes before and I know lots of us get sensitive about it. But here’s the thing: 1) we deserve it and 2) we’ve done so much worse to other races, and 3) jokes point out flaws in new ways that can make us think. So basically get over it and laugh at yourself for once.
But there’s more to it than that.
Don’t get me wrong; Thomas comments often on Whiteness and all the bullshit that comes with White Supremacy, but it isn’t always a joke. We have to talk about that too.
White people, we have to learn how to laugh at ourselves. But a majority of the shit we do isn’t funny. Before laughing at a joke about White people, reflect and make sure you aren’t that White person first.
For example, in On the Come Up, our main character makes a sarcastic joke about the school she attends. She comments on the fact that the school was predominantly White before the school needed grant money and started a diversity initiative that bused in Black kids. Before you laugh at her pointed sarcasm, think about whether or not your school was that school. Or if it is your school, currently. If so, are the Black and Brown students at your school safe? Are their voices centered and heard? Are they treated respectfully?
If not, what are you doing about it?
This is the line of questioning that leads to action. And we White people need to learn how to not take ourselves so seriously, AND reflect on what jokes say about us, AND how we are upholding racist systems. Before we laugh, let’s take daily action. On the Come Up said so much. Pick up a copy and listen to Angie Thomas herself, not me. But, if you’re White, I hope you think about this when reading books that make jokes about us. It’s great to laugh at ourselves, but it’s harmful if we aren’t also doing something to change things.