The Color of Water

In the book The Color of Water by James McBride, the son of a black minister and a white mother, is a remarkable story of the struggles that he and his mother faced during segregation in 1940-1970's. Having a white mother and a black father, James McBride became unsure about his racial identity. His white mother refused to reveal her past and as a result, James became more frustrated. Eventually saw her as a source of embarrassment and confusion. James McBride, in his autobiography The Color of Water, describes the hurdles he faced as a biracial youth growing up in a segregated society. In this overwhelming racist society, his family fought against the culture and triumphed over racism in their own ways.

Jim Crow laws were referred to as racial discrimination toward blacks. It violated and separated whites from blacks, blacks from whites. Concerning marriage, "All marriages between a white person and a Negro, or between a white person and a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of the Malay race; or between the Negro and a member of the Malay race; or between a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of the Malay race, are forever prohibited, and shall be void."

The segregated society consequently effected James McBride's mother, Ruth (Rachel Shisky) as a Jew and when she married a black man. Ruth immigrated to America soon after birth. Her family settled at Virginia where racism ran high. Not only blacks were discriminated but also whites. Ruth was a Jewish girl. She was teased and bullied at school and had no relationships within her peers. The only girl she'd ever talked with was a white girl named Frances. She stood beside Ruth ...