"The Color of Water"

[Cheryl L. Rankin]

Did anyone see the Dateline feature of the author of
"The Color Of Water"? Sorry--I don't remember the author's
name. He wrote a biography of his mother, who hid from
everyone, including her 12 children, the fact that she was
*not* black like her husband. She is Jewish, brought up in
an abusive home by a father whose grocery store was
frequented by black customers with whom she felt very
comfortable and accepted. Her parents despised black people,
and her whole family shunned her when she married.
Sounds like the book is well worth reading. The reference
to "The Color of Water" is that she told her children, when
they asked what color God is, that He is the color of water.

The author also noted that his mother was often ridiculed
in the black communities where they lived because she was
extremely light-skinned. Even as a small child, he wondered
why he had a white mother who claimed to be black. I'll
have to read the book to get the full picture.

This is the first book I've heard about which tells the
story of a *white* woman wanting to pass for black in
the 50s and 60s.

Cheryl

[Robin Bradford]

I read this book and it is excellent. I wish I would have known about
the Dateline special. Not only did she marry one black man, she married
two. Her parents disowned her and sat shivah (sorry if the spelling is
incorrect) which, I guess, is what jewish people do for the dead. Her
father was a real. . .jerk. McBride starts each chapter quoting from his
mother before giving his own experiences. Again, this is an excellent
book. Check it out.

[Frank]

Cheryl L. Rankin wrote:
>
> Did anyone see the Dateline feature of the author of

> "The Color Of Water"? Saw it. Like the quote too, "color of water". Interesting thing
also is that in his family there are 12 kids and they include
(going by memory), 11-12 bachelors degrees, 7 masters and 2 MD's.
Impressive. Once again, 'mixie' acheivement.

[Roger Brown]

Frank (Fr...@earthlink.net) wrote:

This was a great story. The author went to the same schools as my father,
Oberlin and Columbia. I really admired the courage of the mother, to
change her life so radically, with no chance of going back.

- Roger