A short take on the memorably character Riley from Nafissa Thompson-Spires's short story "Heads of the Colored People."
A short take on the memorably character Riley from Nafissa Thompson-Spires's short story "Heads of the Colored People."
One might be quick to judge Riley, but as the story unfolds, we gain more insight on how Riley may be representative of the black experience in more ways than anticipated. Riley, as atypical as you might perceive him, serves as a striking example of the boldness that black men are capable of exercising.
That’s Jalen White, a student at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions—a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels and more.
Nafissa Thompson-Spires’s short story “Heads of the Colored People” often intrigues collegiate Black men. The story presents an unusual Black character named Riley, who wears blue contact lenses, bleaches his hair, reads African American literature, and cosplays as characters from his favorite manga and anime series.
Few characters stimulate as much conversation among collegiate Black men. They’ve been accustomed to a certain kind of Black male character in fiction – the bad man, the noble hero, the nerd, and then they encounter Riley.
For black men, creativity is another freedom that is restricted to them, but the character of Riley bucks that trend in all his blue-eyed, spiked hair glory. A character like Riley requires us, and the world at large, to imagine another possible version of being black, one that might not necessarily come to mind at first thought.
Again, that’s Jalen White.
The more famous Black male characters in African American fiction appear in works by Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison. The writers present characters who struggle with weighty issues, but the physical descriptions of the characters don’t surprise students.
Somehow though, Riley, how he presents himself, his hobbies and interests, becomes a subject of conversation for readers.
Here’s Terrance Wellmaker discussing why he was intrigued by Riley:
What I was most intrigued about with the character of Riley was how invested he was in his imagination. His willingness to dress up as his favorite characters and attend Cons to be a part of the world he chooses was so validating to me.
Here’s Al Smith explaining why he thought Riley was interesting as a character.
Normally fictional black characters are described in a very stereotypical way, but Riley was unique. He really challenged my imagination and gave me a chance to envision a non-stereotypical black character.
The presentation of a character like Riley generates student interest in the author, Nafissa Thompson-Spires. Here’s what Terrance Wellmaker had to say about how the relationship between the character and the author.
To have read a story that was so imaginative yet so authentic to my experience as a black man was so fulfilling, you almost forget that it is fiction. Authored by a black woman, it yearns for me to dive into her work for a deeper look.
Encountering strange or simply non-typical Black male characters can have useful results in terms of building interest in fiction overall, which was the case for Al Smith.
Fiction tends to keep its black characters within certain guidelines that don't always identify with a wide range of black people. Having characters like Riley always peaks black interest. A character like that is relatable and at the same time, he challenges the idea of what a black person looks like and behaves.
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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali.
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This podcast, Remarkable Receptions, is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation. For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.