Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting SelfIn a memoir about the power of race to share one's personal identity, the daughter of Jewish father and African-American mother recalls her confusing but ultimately rewarding life lived between two conflicting ethnic identities. When Mel Leventhal married Alice Walker during the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, his mother declared him dead and did not reconcile until after the birth of her first grandchild. After Mel and Alice divorced, their daughter, Rebecca, alternated homes every two years, spending time in Mississippi, Brooklyn, San Francisco's Haight Ashbury, Washington, D.C., the Bronx, and suburban Westchester. With each new place came a new identity and desperate attempts to fit in: as white or black, as Puerto Rican or Jewish, as a party girl, a fighter, or a lover. Confused, and mostly alone, she turned to sex, drugs, books, and a cast of dangerous and thrilling characters. Black, White, and Jewish is the story of a child's unique struggle for identity and home when nothing in her world told her who she was or where she belonged. Poetic reflections on memory, time, and identity punctuate this gritty exploration of race and sexuality. Rebecca Walker has taken up the lineage of her mother, Alice, whose last name she chose to carry, and has written a lucid and inventive memoir that marks the launch of a major new literary talent. |
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Page 31
... Grandma and her best friend Ruth Glickstein sat outside on the green plastic folding chairs we usually take to the boardwalk . All of us worked on something . I am crocheting a little round thing that Grandma can stand her heavy dolls ...
... Grandma and her best friend Ruth Glickstein sat outside on the green plastic folding chairs we usually take to the boardwalk . All of us worked on something . I am crocheting a little round thing that Grandma can stand her heavy dolls ...
Page 32
... Grandma and I went to see Great - grandma Jen- nie at her house , on our way to Dr. Mixner's office across the street . Great - grandma Jennie is so old and her house smells bad . When I am there with Grandma I sit in the empty chair in ...
... Grandma and I went to see Great - grandma Jen- nie at her house , on our way to Dr. Mixner's office across the street . Great - grandma Jennie is so old and her house smells bad . When I am there with Grandma I sit in the empty chair in ...
Page 33
... grandma says no Grandma shakes her head and laughs a little . " They never do any- thing , my rotten sisters , would you believe it ? Not even a phone call . They just leave everything to me to do . My smart , rich sisters can't even ...
... grandma says no Grandma shakes her head and laughs a little . " They never do any- thing , my rotten sisters , would you believe it ? Not even a phone call . They just leave everything to me to do . My smart , rich sisters can't even ...
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Common terms and phrases
Andrew arms blue body boys brown camp close color comes Daddy dark door drives everything eyes face father feel floor friends front girls give goes Grandma green hair hand hard head hear hold imagine inside Jewish keep kids kind kitchen late later laugh leave legs Lena light Lisa listen living look Mama means meet Michael mind mother move never night parents pick play pull pushing remember says shirt side Sing sister skin smile sometimes stand starts stay stepmother stop street sure talk tell thing told trying turn Uncle waiting walk wall watch wearing whole window woman women write yellow
References to this book
Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism Jennifer Baumgardner,Amy Richards No preview available - 2005 |