Multi-Racial Read #4

Unlike the other multi-racial books which I have reviewed, Angela Nissel’s autobiography, Mixed: My Life in Black and White, is a contemporary look at what it means to grow up as a light-skinned African American woman. The daughter of a black woman and a white man, Nissel was born and raised in Philadelphia in the last part of the 20th century.

With microscopic scrutiny, Nissel describes various events in her life as she struggled with her identity. One of her early memories is wanting to fit in with the white girls at her Catholic elementary school. When the nun asks the class to draw a self-portrait, she offers the black children a crayon marked, “Burnt Umber” Angela plans to ask her mother when she gets home, “….why I wasn’t gray like an ostrich, because don’t black and white combine to make gray?” When the nun offers the other African American children darker crayons to “make your faces darker too.” The children refuse and Anglea thinks, “Didn’t Sister Mary get it? We just wanted to fit in.” (p. 16).

As she grows up, Nissel flip-flops from the white to the black community. Her search to discover where she belongs leads to inevitable conflicts with her mother who informs her, “I don’t know who told you that you were better than anyone else because you have a white dad, but let me tell you, you’re just as black as me…One drop of black blood makes you black, young lady.” Angela, with unarguable logic wonders to herself, “How come one drop of white blood doesn’t make you white?” (p. 79-80.)

Each chapter of the book begins with a quote which addresses the issue of the multi-racial experience. In one Ursula Brown writes, “In a culture that idealizes whiteness and devalues blackness, black children frequently identify with the white dominant race. With the interracial person being half white and therefore closer to a white Euro-American frame of reference and privileges than uniracial blacks, becoming black is even more of a challenge.” This theme of “Euro-American frame of reference” has been repeated in the multi-racial books I’ve read. I wonder how many Caucasians comprehend the experience of living in a society where your skin color is less than ideal.

In Nissel’s quest to find her place in either the white or black community, she reiterates another theme which repeated itself in my research: “It’s not about the color of your skin-- it’s about the culture you’re identified with.” Nissel’s longing to belong to a community met with frustration at a white prep school; acceptance among fellow psychiatric patients; and challenge at a strip joint. Shopping for her stripper costume she was confronted with the frequently asked question, “What are you?” That question has followed, Elliott Lewis, author of Fade his entire life. His book is the next multi-racial book I’ll review.
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Multi-Racial Read #2

Flygirl is a fictional account of a young light-skinned African American woman in Louisiana in 1941 who decides to pass in order to be accepted into the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots). Her motivation is two-fold and powerful. She has a deep passion to fly, fueled by memories of flying with her deceased father who taught her how to fly his crop duster; and she desires to help bring her older brother home who enlisted as a medic.The core of this book, which is appropriate for 5th-9th grade readers, is the price that Ida Mae will have to pay to accomplish her dream.

I read this book looking for background information on Lillie Harris, my light-skinned African American character. I was not disappointed. Sherri Smith, the author of Flygirl, deftly depicts the conflicts which Ida Mae experiences because of her skin color. From the beginning when her best friend observes that she is “Little Miss Pretty Hair [with] Creamy White Skin” (p. 9) through the last pages when she is confronted by romantic attention from her white flight instructor—the book is full of the difficult decisions Ida Mae makes in pursuit of her goal.

As an author investigating the social and cultural context of the South before integration, the book’s key passages are those which show Ida Mae’s background and the tensions which she faces. Early in the book the reader discovers that Ida Mae’s maternal grandmother is a French-speaking Creole. Smith writes,

“My father’s people were town people, city folks who followed opportunity the way a compass follows north. Sometime back, one of them found herself with child by a white man. They steered that half-colored girl down a path that made each generation lighter than light, having children by white men and marrying those children to other mixed coloreds, lighter and whiter until my father was born.

“Daddy was destined to marry a white woman, to be a passé blanc and give his family a better lot in life. By daddy wasn’t an opportunist. He was a romantic, and his heart chose Mama. Grandmѐre Boudreaux never forgave daddy for his choice of a brown-skinned bride…” (p. 53)

Constantly fighting her fear that she will be discovered, Ida Mae passes into a world that is denied other African Americans. Although she is accepted into the WASP program and fulfills her dream to fly, there are heavy consequences. In a poignant scene her mother visits her at the training camp. Meeting her at the gate, Ida Mae pretends that her mother is her maid in order to have a simple conversation:

“Aware of the guard at our backs, we fall into the pattern of mistress and maid. Watching my mother play the role of servant, I feel a sour taste in my throat. I never meant for my own role-playing to bring her such humiliation.

“I don’t know this guard. He gives us a suspicious once-over, the look of someone trying to keep his status. “It’s all right,” I tell him. “She’s our housekeeper.” The word burns my throat…” p. 160-161.

Although more appealing to girls than boys, this account of one women’s struggle against both gender and racial prejudices would supplement classroom studies of African Americans and World War II. I learned a lot by reading it; Flygirl will provide thought-provoking lessons to students across many cultures. (G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2008)
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How are You Celebrating the National Day on Writing?

October 20th is National Day on Writing. I'm celebrating the day by sharing a book that I have just begun to read as I research my young adult historical novel.

Notes of a White Black Woman (Pennsylvania State University Press: 1995) was written by lawyer Judy Scales-Trent. it is a collection of autobiographical essays about her experience as a light-skinned African American woman. It not only gives me insight into the issues she struggled with growing up, it also causes me to evaluate my own preconceived notions about race and color.

This segment is from her observations of generations of photographs in a family album:

"When you look at the photograph of my mother and her sisters, you see that two of the women have white skin. So did my uncle, Big Buddy. But then, when you turn the page to look at the photograph of the grandchildren, it almost takes your breath away, for these are all brown-skinned children. Their skin color ranges from light brown to dark brown, but it is clear that these are not white children....

I am just now realizing that I was so anxious about how they [the dark-skinned men Scales-Trent dated] viewed my color that I did not consider the value I attached to theirs. For it is very likely that without any instruction, without conscious plan, without even thinking about it, I--and perhaps others in my family--thought seriously about skin color when I thought about who would be the father of my children. For this is a country where it is dangerous to be too dark, and where it is wrong to be too light." (p. 48-9)

As a writer, I am indebted to other writers, such as Scales-Trent, who have shared their research and/or life experiences. My work will be richer as a result of their work and honest self-exploration. And that is definitely a reason to celebrate good writers and the writing craft.

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