Ace of Spades

Chiamaka and Devon try one more time to take Aces down via legitimate means, by going to the press. Chiamaka and Terrell are confident that this plan, which is thoroughly grounded in the existing institutions of society, will be an effective solution, but Devon remains skeptical, for unlike his friends, he has lost much of his trust in authority figures after everything that has happened in his life. It is significant that Devon’s misgivings turn out to be accurate, and thus, Àbíké-Íyímídé uses this section of the novel to clarify The Importance of Solidarity when it comes to dismantling racist systems. Though they cannot rely on Ms. Donovan to help them in their cause, Devon and Chiamaka receive unexpected support from other Black people in their community, who arrive to support them when it counts. Ultimately, this turn of events is designed to prove that no matter how powerful the existing systems happen to be, collective action against injustice is far more effective than individual action against an organization as powerful as Niveus.

As an example of a character whose behavior reflects a more virulent manifestation of racism, Jamie’s characterization helps expose the inherent contradictions that exist in any level of Anti-Black Racism. Jamie genuinely and unabashedly hates Black people and loathes Chiamaka in particular, and his behavior steadily devolves over the course of the novel until his unadulterated hatred is entirely unmasked in the climax of the story. Even in the early stages of the novel, it is abundantly clear that he wields an inordinate amount of power and privilege at the school and actively engages in schemes designed to undermine Chiamaka’s reputation and ruin her life. Despite his avowed disgust for her in the climactic scene, Chiamaka identifies the true origins of his anger—the reality that he enjoyed “every second” (382) of his feigned friendship and romance with her despite the depths of his racist views. Jamie is furious when Chiamaka says this, for he does not want to admit that he genuinely is attracted to Chiamaka. Such an attraction would contradict his ongoing hatred of her and force him to reconsider his position. To extend the chain of logic even further, reconsidering his position would force him to see himself in an altogether unflattering light, and perhaps even take responsibility for his criminal behaviors; such self-awareness would be far too much to handle, so anger and violent rage are the only responses he can muster to her insightful accusation. Jamie’s characterization also highlights the real-life sexualization of Black women and girls that portrays them as both desirable and undesirable at the same time.

Most of the people involved in Aces are legacy students at Niveus, meaning that they come from wealthy families who have attended the school for generations. Jack is a notable exception, for he is recruited into the Aces plot even though he is not wealthy. Whoever recruited him managed to convince him that Devon holds an advantage because he is Black; such a biased argument essentially flips the truth about racism on its head. In accordance with this dynamic, Jack’s belief in conspiracy theories like a flat Earth is not an incidental detail, for Àbíké-Íyímídé uses this quirk to emphasize the reality that people who become radicalized into far-right online communities built on racism often fall into a “rabbit hole” of fundamentally flawed logical reasoning that leads inevitably to even more extreme and hateful ideologies. Thus, although Jack lacks the social privilege and wealth of his other white classmates, he allows himself to adopt bigoted ideas that ultimately lead to his willful decision to betray Devon’s trust and destroy their friendship.

In addition to Jack’s fall into prejudice and unwarranted hatred, other characters occupy a range of morally ambiguous positions within the overall narrative, chief among them being Belle and Terrell. These two serve as foils to each other in several ways, for while both are coerced into participating in the Aces plot and both have reservations about doing so, Belle chooses to ignore her reservations, while Terrell chooses to align himself openly with Devon and Chiamaka. This is partly because of the characters’ respective Intersections of Identity. Terrell feels more solidarity with other Black people, while Belle does not. Also, between the two of them, Terrell is the only one whose reason for supporting Aces somewhat mitigates his decision to do so, as his sister needs medical care that his family cannot otherwise afford. Belle, on the other hand, simply lacks the moral strength to stand against her sister’s actions and support Chiamaka and Devon, and even in her moment of confession, she remains largely oblivious to the harm her own inaction has caused. Terrell stands as a sharp contrast to her lack of moral strength when he ultimately decides that taking part in the plot is contrary to his own moral code.

The primary stated goal of Aces is to persuade the Black students at Niveus to drop out of school in their senior year. Sometimes, however, their deeply damaging agenda transcends the realm of criminal harassment to dabble in assault and even murder. This becomes apparent in the climactic scene when Headmaster Ward all but admits that Aces murdered Dianna Walker in 1965. From this increasingly toxic series of encounters, it is clear that Niveus does not see Black people as human beings; every member of the Aces group, even teachers and other authority figures, represent the most extreme version of Anti-Black Racism in that they are perfectly able to justify the murder of Black people to further their own goals. This part of the book clarifies that racism is always an institution predicated on violence. It is not silly or a game; it can be a life-or-death situation for Black people. The members of Aces were able to get away with the murder of Dianna Walker because they are the ones who hold the power in society. Thus, Àbíké-Íyímídé emphasizes that even in real life, such people are unlikely to face the consequences for their actions unless a multitude of people is willing to hold them accountable.