Brownies

At a surface level, “Brownies” is a story about race; at a deeper level, like many narratives about race and racism, “Brownies” is a story about both perception and power. As characters who would have been born just after the time of the African-American civil rights movement in America, Snot and the rest of her troop are the first generation to come of age in the post-civil rights era. Implied in this, is the fact that they would be aware of—and would have themselves encountered—the continuing racism in America after this movement, especially in the American South.

The entire plot of “Brownies” cannot occur without the lie—or at least her misconception—created and spread by Arnetta; that is, her false statement that one of the white girls in Troop 909 called Daphne a “ni****”. However, it’s also Daphne’s failure to refute this claim that allows the rest of the troop to get worked up enough to seek revenge.

Arnetta’s lie, then, while not completely accepted by the rest of the troop, is also not called out as the fabrication that it is. Arnetta is able to perpetuate this lie for three reasons: 1) she holds the most powerful position in the group, in regard to the troop’s own social hierarchy; 2) Snot and her troop perceive Troop 909 only from afar, and incorrectly; and 3) the very real generalization, and truth, that most white people the girls have encountered retain racist attitudes, which they express explicitly or implicitly.