What is Clint is reticent to do in “The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas” by Reginald McKnight?

Clint's reluctant to fight Oakley, who's itching for a showdown after Clint hit him in the face with a hard-pumped volley ball.
Two other boys, Preston and Nailor, try to goad Clint into a fight by telling him all the many things that Oakley hates about him. (As well as being "colored," he also says "tennis shoes" instead of sneakers, apparently). But Clint doesn't rise to the bait. Instead, when Oakley comes into the locker room, demanding they meet up for a fight, Clint comes right out and asks him why he isn't after Marvin rather than him.
Marvin's one of only two other African-American students at the school, and Clint looks down on him because of his dark skin and low educational level. Clint's outburst is very revealing as it shows everyone just how uncomfortable he is in his own black skin.