Racism in the United States
Racism in the United States is a great challenge that forces many African-American people to live in between cultures as they try to fit in the society. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (2003), a collection of eight short stories revolves around the lives of young African American women living amidst a white population. The short stories authored by ZZ Packer, reveal racism as the central theme showing how African American's learn to cope with the discrimination around them. The story titled “Brownies”, for instance, explores a brownie troop of the African American girls who plan to beat up white girls in the brownie troop 909 for allegedly referring to one of them with a derogatory racial slur (Packer 1). Additionally, in another instance, Packer presents a young girl struggling to conceal her real identity as she strives to fit in her surrounding white society in the title story, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Nevertheless, Packer succeeds in presenting a fearless generation of African-American women not ready to compromise their worth based on their race.
The Concept of Young African American Women Striving to Gain a Noncompliant Identity
Although the story “Brownies” is about a youth summer camp while “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” is about a young university African American girl, both stories explore the concept of young African American women striving to gain a noncompliant identity in the society irrespective of their color. Therefore, together both texts demonstrate the efforts that African Americans living amidst white people make while trying to fit in the society.
Brownies
The first story, “Brownies” in the book Drinking Coffee Elsewhere depicts a generation of African Americans confident of their worth and unwilling to let anyone look down upon them. After learning that one of the girls in the white brownie troop referred to one of their members with the hated racial slur “Nigger”, the African American brownie troop decide to teach the white girls a lesson. In their plan, the black brownies decide to beat the white girls up or put daddy-long-legs in the girls’ sleeping bags (Packer 8). Irrespective of their race, the African American girls exhibit their willingness to punish anyone who disrespects them in any way. Considering the view that whites are superior to the blacks, it appears quite unusual that a group of the African American girls plan to beat up white girls. However, the troop later learn that the girls in brownie troop 909 are mentally challenged, having a condition that could have resulted in one of them using a racial slur to refer to a member of the black brownie troop.
Additionally, ZZ Packer demonstrates the place of African-Americans in the society where the black brownie troop makes fun of how the girls in the brownie troop 909 smell. Arnetta, an official leader of the African American brownie troop tells her fellows, "man did you smell them? They smell like Chihuahuas" (Packer 1). Additionally, Octavia gives an exaggerated response by referring to the white girls' smell as “serious Chihuahuas”. Therefore, in such a way, Packer demonstrates the ability of African Americans to make fun of their white counterparts just as people make fun of their skin color.
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
Packer's title story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” revolves around an African-American girl who comes to Yale as a freshman in the university. As a poor African-American girl, Dina faces many challenges while trying to live up to the institution's as well as her classmates' expectations. As a result, Dina is forced to pretend to conceal her real identity. For instance, when playing a game with classmates, Dina says that if she were an object, then it would be a revolver (Packer 570). The response Dina gives is not at all genuine but meant to shock and upset her peers, which consequently earns her a lonely life in the university. Moreover, Dina’s response results in psychological evaluations by Dr. Raeburn since the dean think she suffers a psychological problem. However, Dina does not care about what her classmates or the dean treat or say about her.
Despite her good character while in Baltimore, Dina finds herself transformed into a hard-bitten character in Yale due to the discriminatory lifestyle she encounters. For instance, when telling Dr. Raeburn about her encounter with a boy in Govans, Dina instantly makes up a story to hide her poor reaction after meeting the boy. Dina feels that telling Dr. Raeburn the truth will make her look stupid for behaving in a stupid way thus pretending to have had an interesting encounter with the boy.
Conclusion
Living amidst white people is a great challenge for a majority of African-American people. However, in most cases, some African-Americans often find a way to cope with the racial discrimination they may face. Therefore, in her book Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, ZZ Packer shows how young African-American women try to fit in the harsh discriminatory society they live. The protagonists in Packer's stories discover that they are outcasts and thus strive to structure their identity in the society. For instance, in Brownies, the African-American brownie troop show their worth by planning revenge against a group of white girls who use a racial slur on one of them. Dina, on the other hand, finds herself using pretense as an escapism tool to the rude racists in her midst. However, Dina appears as a strong young girl less affected by other people's view of her.
Works Cited
Packer, Z. Z. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. Penguin, 2004.
