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When a young African American boy asks his white mother, “Am I black or white?’ ‘You’re a human being! She snapped, ‘Educate yourself or you’ll be a nobody” (McBride 92). Racism has always been a part of the circle of life, and can start many things: war, mass murder, but also many admirable things. In The Color of Water by James McBride, it is clear how the author is affected by racism in his town in a deep way, and how it changes his views on himself as a human being and his family; his skin color begins to make an alteration in his life, and changes his thoughts and actions.
Once James McBride is put around racists and forced segregation at a very young age, he changes his views on himself and the others in his family. Often times, McBride hears and witnesses acts of hate towards his family, which shifts his total outlook. This is apparent when McBride reflects on a situation that happened when he was younger, recalling strangers calling out to his mother, “look at that white bitch!... and a white man screaming at mommy, somewhere in Manhattan, calling her a ‘Nigger lo...
Questioning looks, dirty gazes, and the snide babbles were all too accustomed to Ruth McBride, when she walked down the street with her tow of children. James McBribe, one of the dozen children from her two elopements, was often ashamed as well as scared. They had to prolong the worse racial monikers. His mother, who was white, maintained unattended, “Whenever she stepped out of the house with us she went into a somewhat mental zone where her attention span went no farther than the five kids trailing her,” McBride subsequently wrote “My mom had absolutely no interest in a world that seemed incredulously agitated by our presence. The remarks and stares that we heard as we walked about the world went right over our head.” Her indomitable spirit and her son’s recollections became the basis of “The Color of Water”. In the work there is a great presence of God and the fortitude he unconditionally sends, especially to Ruth. Although Ruth’s clout frequently surpassed her circadian problems, she would more regularly rely on God for her vigor.
When the people laugh at these kids, they are exemplifying an implicit social view of the African Americans: it’s one of contemptuous amusement for the people on the bus. James plays into this negative view of African Americans by pretending to hit her and having the people laugh at them again when the girl ducks down beside her mother (232). This exchange shows how conscious James is of what White people think of him, e.g., “ I look toward the front where all the white people
In Black Boy blacks were treated as less than humans. The whites wanted to be superior in every way and they forced the blacks to follow their rules. In one of the jobs that he had, Wright witnesses how awful his boss treated a customer because she did not pay. “They got out and half dragged and half kicked the woman into the store…later the woman stumbled out, bleeding, crying, holding her stomach her clothing torn.” (Wright, 179) Whites treating blacks like this was normal. When the woman was being mistreated there were whites around, but they did not even look at them because they did not care. There was also a policeman who arrested the woman after she was assaulted Wright was mistreated in many ways because he was black and did not know how to give in to the rules. Because of the way society treated him, Wright became angry and with that anger grew a motivation to become better. He wanted to change the destiny that the whites had set for all blacks. In Separate Pasts McLaurin grew up in the South with blacks around him since he was a child. While there was still segregation in his city, blacks and whites still lived together better than with Wright. McLaurin recalls how he spent so much time with blacks and to him it was normal. “From the fall I entered the seventh grade until I left for college…every working day I talked and
McBride, James. The Color of Water: a Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. New York: Riverhead, 1996. Print.
Philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Whether individuals are silly or wise, studying incidents from their history provides them valuable lessons. By unrolling their memories, people can draw wisdom from prior errors and safeguard their futures. James McBride typifies this notion when he weaves his mother Ruth’s old times and his new world in his memoir The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother. Via James’s quest for his mother's heritage as a struggling biracial kid, McBride portrays the strength of Ruth who endures social and economic hardships raising twelve biracial children. Despite Ruth’s reticence on her painful upbringing, the author discloses that her past guides her present behavior and strengthens her to overcome challenges of building her children’s future.
James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity by truth of his mother's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind. As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of issues of race. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the world. It is only when James uncovers the past of his mother does he begin to understand the complexity with himself and form his own identity.
In The Color of Water, author James McBride writes both his autobiography and a tribute to the life of his mother, Ruth McBride. In the memoirs of the author’s mother and of himself, they constantly face discrimination from their race in certain neighborhoods and of their religious beliefs. The trials and tribulations faced by these two characters have taught readers universally that everyone faces difficulties in life, but they can all be surmounted.
From an early age it was clear to Sandy that, the lighter a person’s skin was, the higher their social status. As the only young child in his household, he was exposed to many conversations among the adults around him that revolved around race. A primary example of this was one of the conversations between his grandmother, Aunt Hager, and her friend, Sister Whiteside. Sandy and the two elder women sat at the kitchen table together to share a meal while the two women chatted. Sandy sat quietly and absorbed their talk of everything from assuming the white ancestry of a lighter-skinned child they knew, to the difficulty of keeping “colored chillens in school” (13-15).
Literacy has impacted individuals of all classes, race and gender. In The Color of Water, James McBride´s interaction with literacy causes him to look at the world more deeply by seeking the story of his mother. Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore shows the reader the effects of literacy when comparing the lives of two men with the same name. Additionally, Richard Wright’s Black Boy shares the insight of what literacy can have on an individual’s sense of the world, and Brent Staples’ “Black Men in Public Space” sheds light on the stereotypical platforms set by society. Lastly, Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool” explains a life full of careless fun. Although these stories differ, the influence of literacy has enabled each man to grow as a person
African-Americans aged 12 and up are the most victimized group in America. 41.7 over 1,000 of them are victims of violent crimes, compared with whites (36.3 over 1,000). This does not include murder. Back then during the era of the Jim Crow laws, it was even worse. However, during that time period when there were many oppressed blacks, there were many whites who courageously defied against the acts of racism, and proved that the color of your skin should not matter. This essay will compare and contrast two Caucasian characters by the names of Hiram Hillburn (The Mississippi Trial, 1955) and Celia Foote (The Help), who also went against the acts of prejudice.
In this book, it shows examples of racial strife including segregation, physical attacks and emotional abuse. The Logan family was treated indescribably. The book starts showing racial strife when the children of the black family have to go to a different school than the white children for that very reason. This book shows the way racism started in the 1930’s and how much it’s changed compared to today.
The novel is loaded with a plethora of imageries of a hostile white world. Wright shows how white racism affects the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of Bigger.
I was late for school, and my father had to walk me in to class so that my teacher would know the reason for my tardiness. My dad opened the door to my classroom, and there was a hush of silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my father and me. He told the teacher why I was late, gave me a kiss goodbye and left for work. As I sat down at my seat, all of my so-called friends called me names and teased me. The students teased me not because I was late, but because my father was black. They were too young to understand. All of this time, they thought that I was white, because I had fare skin like them, therefore I had to be white. Growing up having a white mother and a black father was tough. To some people, being black and white is a contradiction in itself. People thought that I had to be one or the other, but not both. I thought that I was fine the way I was. But like myself, Shelby Steele was stuck in between two opposite forces of his double bind. He was black and middle class, both having significant roles in his life. "Race, he insisted, blurred class distinctions among blacks. If you were black, you were just black and that was that" (Steele 211).
As you read this book, you will realize many lessons in life along with the Logan family. The children learn that you are not born with racism and that it is taught. Jeremy, who is white, is one of the main characters that shows an action like this by just walking to school with the Logan children when he could ride a bus as white children. In addition to this, he talks to them and does not go behind their back and tell secrets. Another lesson taught in this book is that it is your choice of the
Wright, R. (2001). The ethics of living Jim Crow: An autobiographical sketch. In P. Rothenberg (Ed.). Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study. (5th ed. pp. 21-30). New York: Worth Publishers.