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. |
From inside the book
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Page 39
... tiny three - bedroom bungalow in Brighton Beach that my father grew up in . Moving from household to household is like switching between radio stations : Each type of music calls for a different dance , but it all exists simultaneously ...
... tiny three - bedroom bungalow in Brighton Beach that my father grew up in . Moving from household to household is like switching between radio stations : Each type of music calls for a different dance , but it all exists simultaneously ...
Page 63
... tiny amount of money my mother makes writing , Mama and I move into a floor - through on the other side of Prospect Park one fourth the size of our house on Midwood . My room is the size of the bathroom in the old house , with just a ...
... tiny amount of money my mother makes writing , Mama and I move into a floor - through on the other side of Prospect Park one fourth the size of our house on Midwood . My room is the size of the bathroom in the old house , with just a ...
Page 212
... tiny stage in the Media Arts lab , lip - synching the words to our favorite Police tune , “ Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic , " and flirting with the camera . T ina is my best friend here and she's flipping her straight dirty ...
... tiny stage in the Media Arts lab , lip - synching the words to our favorite Police tune , “ Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic , " and flirting with the camera . T ina is my best friend here and she's flipping her straight dirty ...
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References to this book
Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism Jennifer Baumgardner,Amy Richards No preview available - 2005 |