Racism In Chester Himes If He Hollers Let Him Go

“The whole structure of American thought was against me; American tradition had convicted me a hundred years before. And standing there … having to take it, knowing that I was innocent and that I didn't have a chance” (187). This was the demoralized perspective the majority of African Americans had in society during the 1940s, an era corrupted with uncontrollable racism and pure hatred towards the minorities. There was no equality, no opportunity, and no hope available for 99% of all the African Americans who were trying to enhance their lives. They were always subservient to whites. In Chester Himes’s novel, If He Hollers Let Him Go, Himes demonstrates the struggle life presents for African Americans in comparison to whites, as well as the

light skin blacks’ struggle to ‘pass’ in society as white in order to prevent extensive amounts of injustice. Himes strategically compares the lifestyles of two African Americans who differ in their backgrounds, skin color and class. Bob is dark-skinned and poor, living the life of a migrant whereas Alice, Bob’s girlfriend, is supported by a privileged background with extremely light skinned complexion and attempts to fool society into thinking she’s white. Because Bob is so desperate for power in order to escape his deprived background, he struggles to climb the social ladder and finds the solution to racism in resistance and defiance. In contrast, in virtue that Alice is privileged, she accepts the conditions of racism in order to disguise herself as a white woman and comply with the status norm.
With the existence of racism came the constant struggle in attempting to eliminate the supremacist mentality and create equality.

Bob and Alice had different methods in doing so. Bob is disgusted with the existence of racism and the amount of inequality and injustice that hinders his life. With every inch of his body, Bob attempts to fight the war of racism and eliminate the detrimental effects it has on individuals of color. The rejected feeling Bob gets when in the vicinity of white people, or even high class light skin blacks, makes him feel “like an intruder and it made [him] slightly resentful” (49). By not feeling welcome in society, even at his own girlfriend’s house, Bob begins to feel powerless and dehumanized. When speaking with Tom Leighton, a well-off white man, Bob shares his perspective on the proper method to solve the problem of racism. He declares, “The only solution to the Negro problem is a revolution. We’ve got to make white people respect us and the only thing white people have ever respected is force” (89). When Tom questions the legitimacy of a revolution solely funded and run by blacks, Bob responds that success will not arise unless the white people actively support the black cause. Bob’s comment demonstrates his strong views towards society. He realizes that white people are the ones with power, and to bring any change, the whites must agree and want it. The only feasible manner to do so in Bob’s eyes is to bring resistance to their intolerable

actions and penetrate the enemy with force in order for them to comply. Bob publicly and frequently refuses to stand for the injustice unlike Alice’s solution to race.