ROLAND'S VALUES

Coffee Will Make You Black a book by April Sinclair is a story about a young girl named Jean Stevenson also known as Stevie. Stevie becomes friends with this young boy named Roland who throughout the book goes from being quiet to fighting for what he believes in. Roland not only changes a lot in the way he acts but his values also differ from when he was in middle school. Roland now values things that make him who he is and the values are being outspoken, being honest, and also the black power movement. These three values show that he has changed his way of looking at the world and wanting to change things.

He is first an outspoken person when he finds out that Stevie was going pee with Yusef and gets there just in time to save her because he lets her know that Yusef had told all of his friends what they were going to do. Roland shows that he is an outspoken person when he is one of the persons that start the riot at the high school that he and Stevie attended. He is the one that walks into Stevie’s history class dressed in a dashiki with a teke around his neck and wearing a big fro. Then he says, “It’s time for a new generation of black men to rise up and seize control!” This is way where it shows that he values being an outspoken person and that he feels that he has to be the leader.

Another one of his values was that he was a very honest person and said the truth to the people around him. When Stevie says that she knows Roland likes her, it shows that he did not like to hide anything even if it was something personal. Another way in which it shows that Roland is an honest person is when he calls Stevie after she stood him up and asks for an explanation. One of the things he says to Stevie is, “What is the meaning of what you did this afternoon?” and he was showing his honesty by being sincere in what he was asking. This is a value that is kept by Roland as the story progresses.

The last value that Roland has is that he values the Black Power Movement because he feels that he can connect to the things that are happening and want to be a part of it. Roland wants to be a part of it when he tells Stevie that he is going to join the Afro American club because he wants to be able to stand up for the injustices that they are facing at the time. Another way that he shows that he is really about the black power is when he wants Stevie to sign the manifesto because he believes that they should demand things that will make them feel comfortable in their own school. He feels that the school should have a black principal and vice-principal. Also Roland wants a black nurse and black guidance counselors, which shows that he wants to change things because of his black power belief. This shows that he wants a lot changed because he feels that there are a lot of injustices.

Roland shows a lot of change throughout the novel because he goes from being a quiet boy to expressing what he wants and rioting for the same cause. He also is braver because he fights for his rights instead of doing the right thing. The only person that I find Roland faces some sort of conflict with in his values is Stevie because she does not always agree with what he is doing and questions it. Also because Stevie has different values than Roland and does not appreciate his point of view.

Roland has gone from being a nerdy kid to finding a place to which he belonged to and felt the need to do things. He has been able to transform a lot and I feel has had the most impact on me as a character because he changed into a whole different person. The only thing now is expect to see more of his strong feelings and desires to change things that are happening to him.