Comparing Grover's Growing Up White In America and McBride's Work, What Color Is Jesus?

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Comparing Grover's Growing Up White In America and McBride's Work, What Color Is Jesus? Racial issues have been predominant for the last fifty years. The two authors Bonnie Kay Grover and James McBride share their racial views in their respective works “Growing Up White In America” and “What Color Is Jesus?” Each author has a different view on exactly what race is and how it is used. Bonnie Kae Grover is a white female who believes that race has been used as a weapon. Specifically, she focuses on how white people use their color of skin to be controlling of other people. Her gripe is on the notion of “white culture.” She questions the validity of the statement and believes it is simply just American culture and those who think of it as white culture “just moved in like they’ve discovered it” (Grover 377). She examines some similarities in today’s “white culture” and the historical attitude of the exploring Europeans. The Europeans, when inhabiting North America, “just moved in and said they had God on their side and the Indians weren’t much anyway but a few of them could work for them sometimes if they behaved themselves, and the rest were lined up for disposal” (377). The Europeans believed themselves superior to the Indians; any and all action – fair and unfair alike – taken against the Indians was justifiable because it helped the Europeans. Grover argues that this irresponsible approach is the basis of the white culture. White culture is simply American culture taken and modified as seen fit by white people. James McBride focuses his essay on his parents. His mother was white and his father black. He felt confusion; which color was he? McBride remembers when he was ten, he approached his mother with the question while she was working on the kitchen table. Her thoughtful response was only one word: “[p]liers” (391). He was not the only one in the family to have this question. His older brother took it an extra step and during Sunday school asked the reverend about the skin color of Jesus.

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