Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

Four teenage boys—Jamal, Big Boy, Flaco, and Randy—regularly go to the Kosciuszko Pool in Brooklyn in the summer, then to one of their houses after to hangout. On this day, they head to Flaco’s after swimming.

On the way there, the boys watch the signs at each of the bodegas advertising different sandwiches, as they are starving after swimming. They each discuss the type of sandwich they want. Big Boy tells them how he wants to get beef and broccoli from a Chinese restaurant, add soy and duck sauce, and make it into a sandwich. Jamal talks about a hero with veggies like they see on the bodega signs, or a pastrami sandwich built on a challah roll. Randy wants a Polish sausage and sauerkraut, even though he can’t pronounce “sauerkraut.” When they make fun of Flaco for wanting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he revises it to “one of them veggie sandwiches [he] always be seeing these white people get” served on pumpernickel bread, with bacon on top (113).

When the boys arrive at Flaco’s, they again talk about the sandwiches they want, as Flaco goes into the kitchen to get food. He returns with cereal and milk, telling them “don’t worry” he’s “got sugar” (115).