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 19
... laughs , throwing her head back . From where I sit , underneath the little table by Mama's side of the bed , I can see ... laugh out loud at Johnny Car- son . He has put on a silly hat and robe and is waving a magic wand . For a second ...
... laughs , throwing her head back . From where I sit , underneath the little table by Mama's side of the bed , I can see ... laugh out loud at Johnny Car- son . He has put on a silly hat and robe and is waving a magic wand . For a second ...
Page 85
... laugh and laugh in my high - pitched giggle , unable to stop , unable to get control of myself , to calm down , to get into bed and go to sleep . After twenty minutes or so of this whirlwind , my uncle Bobby says something to the boys ...
... laugh and laugh in my high - pitched giggle , unable to stop , unable to get control of myself , to calm down , to get into bed and go to sleep . After twenty minutes or so of this whirlwind , my uncle Bobby says something to the boys ...
Page 195
... laugh- ing over loud music . They yell something out at us , but I think only Jesús is straight enough to give them the finger . The mesc mixes into my blood , and after a few minutes I am peering at the others , trying to see if it is ...
... laugh- ing over loud music . They yell something out at us , but I think only Jesús is straight enough to give them the finger . The mesc mixes into my blood , and after a few minutes I am peering at the others , trying to see if it is ...
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Common terms and phrases
Andi Hirsch Andrew arms baby bathroom bedroom best friend Bethany bike black girls blue body boyfriend boys Bronx camp Colleen color comes Daddy Dakeba dark Dark Star door drives eyes face father feel Fire Lake floor front Gloria Vanderbilt Grandma green hand head high school inside Japantown jeans jelly shoes Jewish kids kitchen Larchmont laugh legs Lena Lena's Lisa Lisa's listen living room look Malaika Mama Mervyn's Michael mother movie never night parents pick play Price Is Right pull pushing Rebecca Rebecca Walker remember Roberta Flack San Francisco says Sergio Valente jeans shirt shit side Sing sister skin smell smile stand stepmother stop street talk tell Theresa thing tiny trying Uncle Bobby Utne Reader waiting walk Walker watch wearing window woman yellow
References to this book
Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism Jennifer Baumgardner,Amy Richards No preview available - 2005 |