Literature as a Catalyst for Inclusivity: Promoting Equality through Power and Discourse in Black Narrative

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-317-7_111How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Inclusivity; Black Narrative; Nic Stone’s Dear Martin

Abstract

Literature has long been a powerful vehicle for social change, offering a means to reflect on societal issues, challenge oppressive structures, and envision of more inclusive futures. The Black narrative, in particular, serves as a crucial platform for addressing racial inequality and promoting justice. This article explores how Black literature harnesses power and discourse to catalyze inclusivity and equality. It employs Michel Foucault theory of power to investigate the intricate ways in which power operates through racism practices within the Black narrative of Stone’s acclaimed novel, Dear Martin. The genealogical approach is applied to delve into the analysis. This study’s data collection methods included library research using the documentation method. This analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of racial issues in American society offering insights into the ways in which discourse and power relations shape the acts of racism, constructed identity and the potential for resistance within a contemporary context. The institutional settings within the novel, such as educational and legal systems, are scrutinized to reveal their roles in reinforcing power structures strengthening the concept of equality. Resistance and identity construction are explored through the lens of normalization, with a focus on how characters within the narrative negotiate and resist prevailing norms amidst the racial profiling and color-blind racism as the way to embody inclusivity.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Dini Amalia
AU  - Ali Mustofa
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/02/13
TI  - Literature as a Catalyst for Inclusivity: Promoting Equality through Power and Discourse in Black Narrative
BT  - Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Arts and Humanities 2024 (IJCAH 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1145
EP  - 1165
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-317-7_111
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-317-7_111
ID  - Amalia2025
ER  -