In the essay "Black Boy", Richard's alienation from his environment is a recurring theme. Despite his efforts to distance himself from the prejudices that surround him, whites persistently try to stereotype him as a typical Southern black. However, Richard is also alienated from his own people, perhaps even more so than from whites. From childhood to adolescence, Richard has always been a rebel, refusing to submit to the white man like the other blacks around him. White people feared Richard because he challenged the system they had created to ensure white supremacy. Some whites expressed their racist feelings to hide their fear. Richard's relatives never understood him and he was alienated from his family and his own people. Shorty, a young black boy who jokes about being beaten by white people, is someone Richard hates because he accepts what Richard finds disgusting. Richard thinks about taking his hatred and frustration out on other black people, but he knows this won't help the situation. Richard is willing to leave school without a diploma rather than read a speech prepared by the principal that would make him say what the white power wanted him to say. Richard's refusal to conform to the expectations of whites and his own people alienated him from his environment.