In Race and Ethnicity Class we read two books. We read The Color of Water and Night. I really liked both books. They are informative on two different races. They are interesting and emotional. Color of Water is about a black Jewish man (James) and his relationship with his white Jewish mother (Ruth). In the story the man did not realize growing up that he and his mother are different races. He is mix, both black and white, and his mother is white. This causes him to spend much of his life questioning his identity. This hit home with me, because it is completely different than how I raised my children. As soon as I thought they were old enough to understand I explained to them that their daddy is part black and part white and that’s why some people on daddy’s side of the family are black and some are white. I also explained that I am all white and that this means that even though they look all white that they have a little bit of black in them. This makes me wonder if I had blew off their questions on why some of their family has a different skin color than them the way the mother in the story did if they would question their identity. My children no longer have questions why people have different skin colors. We taught them that it is wrong to judge people by their skin color and that everyone is equal and beautiful. After their father explain racism and told them stories about being picked on in school they agreed that it wasn’t fair. However after my experience with
Many of the students found the reading assignments to be the most enjoyable part of the class. Each of the books were relatable in some way or another. River City Empire by Orville Menard revealed to students the untold history of Omaha’s political past. The book illustrated parts of Omaha that are still around today. Students could easily visualize these areas and recognize what has changed throughout time and what hasn’t. The same goes for Willa Cather’s novel One of Ours and Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger. While reading, students were able to compare the stories and put them into context based on their own past experiences. Unlike River City Empire, One of Ours and Friday Night Lights depict the small town vibe where time really has stood still. These books proved to be significant in following class discussions, because frankly some people are still unaware of the societal realities within their own state. And for those who were never familiar with Nebraska and Great Plains culture, it was lesson over how the progressive, 21st century ideology really hadn’t
Moving on to Abraham Lincoln, history books often gloss over his ideas and inner debates on the topic of race as well; if textbooks explored Lincoln's racism, then students would understand how "normal" throughout American history and his efforts to apply the America's democratic principles across the color line, students would see how idea can develop a person
It is clear that the reasoning behind the color-blind parenting approach can be argued and in this case proven to be unrealistic expectations that do no match reality. But why does this matter? Is it really that big of a deal if white children learn about race from social media and believe that race does not affect them? Yes, because in our current day and age, race issues have not gone away, and do not seem to be going away anytime soon. The book “The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide” is written entirely about how even after hundreds of year, America still has an astonishing racial wealth divide, this book even states “for every dollar owned by the average white family in the United States, the average family
James McBride 's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man 's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth 's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity by truth of his mother 's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind. As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of issues of race. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the world. It is
For my cultural cache book report I chose to read the book, The Color of Water by James McBride. I learned several things about what life was like in the mid-1900’s and in which may be why we still face issues with racial differences. McBride does a great job of illustrating his internal and external challenges that he faces throughout his life. I also learned more about African American culture in the United States and gave me a desire to be a part of positive change to this particular racial group.
When people are treated unfairly or unjustly, how should they perceive it and how do they generally react to this? In The Color of Water by James McBride, prejudice shapes James and Ruth in many ways, James has different stories than Ruth, due to the fact that he lived in a different time period, which makes his scenario different from Ruth’s. Both faced adversity, and stood up for themselves and defended themselves in many different ways just to make sure that they could survive in society. Ruth had always taught her children to be independent. She comes from an interesting background, she was starving of love and affection as a child. Ruth has experienced a lot of grief in her life due to all of these bad events that occurred. Even growing up, her father had treated her unfairly by taking advantage of her sexually. This was definitely not a right thing to do, Ruth’s father was an abusive man who had a sex addiction. He was found to have an affair with another woman even though Mameh knew about it the entire time. Due to her rough past when practicing Judaism, she decided to practice Catholicism after marrying Andrew Dennis McBride. She felt as if she was a freer person, she gained a personal connection to the religion which was good because it helped for her to get her mind off of things. James is a very confused boy, being black and white. He’s unsure where he fits in when it comes to society. A personal connection that I have to
In the U.S there are several different methods used to categorize Americans. One of those methods is class. Class is defined as, the system of ordering a society in which people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic status. Class matters because whatever class we are a part of affects the education we receive, Marriage, parenting and even the areas we get to live in.
Black son, white mother. Living in Brooklyn, which is a predominantly black neighborhood, during the 1950’s. Just by analyzing the two main characters and the setting we can conclude that a recurring theme in James McBride’s The Color of Water is racial prejudice and injustice. Racial prejudice and injustice are still present in today’s society. All you have to do to see it is turn on the news.
James McBride can tell you firsthand about man verse racial identity. Journalizing his experience in his New York Times Bestseller novel the Color of Water simply outlined his struggles of finding who he was. His upbringing included a black father and a Jewish white mother. His background made it hard for him to understand why his home was different than others on the street. Although McBride experience shows an older outtake of racial identity, some may say this still is a problem today. Offspring feels the need to pick a race in society to succeed in the generation and it may be the step to understands them more. Notice in the subtitle of the book "A black Men tribute to his white mother" he label himself as just black as if there was a barrier between his mother and himself because the so different. Today we need to not let racial identity become a big part of our lives.
What identifies you? If it was not for one’s race, religion, gender, or atmosphere of their surroundings what would their identity be? To answer that one may need to know what identity means; identity is what make you as a person, the thing that may define a person like race, gender, and religion. Identity can be closely correlated with The Color of Water by characters always thriving to find his or her own identity. In the memoir The Color of Water by James McBride, the author has trouble finding his own identity and understanding his mother by trying to find his own race, how religion means different things in the world, and the behavior along with the atmosphere of their surroundings.
Children aren’t born knowing the differences between black and whites or any racial groups and gender differences as well. They are born innocent and empty of any knowledge about what’s happening in the world. However, as they grow up they develop their own identity as well as what is and isn’t acceptable by observing and learning from those around them. When watching the scene in the movie you could tell that the young child wasn’t comfortable with his father’s actions at first. Though, he seemed to believe it was ok because he watched not only his father, but his peers react in the same
In the Color of Water, Ruth Mcbride has an important significance, because her complex past is what propels the book. Without her, the book would not be nearly as interesting. James Mcbride, Ruth’s son and author of the book, portrays Ruth as a secretive, un maternal like, and spiritual woman. Ever since James was a child, he remembers his mother never mentioning her past or her racial identity. James notes:”She had a complete distrust authority and an insistence on complete privacy which seemed to make her and my family odder .... Matters involving race and identity she ignored (9) Ruth keeps her past hidden away from her children, so that she doesn’t have to relive painful memories or inquire her past. In doing so, Ruth also doesn’t label
My first awareness of racial identity and diversity occurred when I was in Year 3. Having being raised acknowledging acceptance of people of racial or cultural difference my thoughts of children of colour were positive and impartial. However, one day a boy in my class of Sri Lankan descent got into trouble with another student, but only the Sri Lankan boy was asked to go to the principal’s office. During our lunch break he came over to a group of us and told us that he thought he was the one that got into trouble ‘because he was ‘black’’. I remember thinking to myself, ‘why would he get into trouble just because he was black?’ It was in fact that both boys
My mother is Caucasian, my father is African American. I am a mix between the two. As I got older and was able to fully comprehend the world around me, I started to realize I was being treated differently when I was with my mom. Trips to the grocery store made it more personal. White people were quick to smile at me and were always very pleasant. Blacks would simply ignore my gestures. Things were the opposite when I was with my dad, White people would avoid eye contact, wouldn’t smile at me when I smiled at them. Black people were quicker to return my gestures. Completely different than when I was with my mother. As a young child, this was very confusing and hurtful.
The first step in my selection process was searching online for lists of books published by organizations, schools and blogs that featured racially diverse main characters. I used Amazon extensively once I had found titles of interest. Amazon provided me with the ISBN numbers to search as specifically as possible and offered similar title suggestions. I cross referenced the titles through the Halifax Public Libraries Discover Catalog to see if they were already owned. My goal was to select new titles so I was not building a collection that already existed somewhere else. I paid particular attention to books