|
Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black (Paperback) (平装)
by Gregory Howard Williams
| Category:
Race, Family, Memoir, Story |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Imagine living a happy life with all of the privileges of being white. Imagine your life taking an unexpected twist and all that you ever knew is gone, including your identity. This book is the life of Gregory and Mike Williams. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
|
| |
AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
|
|
A. Aguero (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
This book should be required reading for everybody. Not only is it very well written, but it contains numerous anecdotes that, from a psychological standpoint, are nothing less than fascinating. Simply put, "Life on the Color Line" illustrates the absurdity of prejudice with greater profundity than any book I have ever read. Words that came out of the mouth of Gregory's own grandmother left me so stunned that I was numb for hours, and I am still shocked by it.
Dr. Williams, you have written a masterpiece. Thank you, thank you, for telling your amazing story. Your childhood may have been unbelievably horrific, but it has left you a greater man by far.
|
|
|
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
Less a biography and more of a historical novel that richly describes a tumultuous time in American history, this book is a page turner. A story is often told better through the eyes of those who have lived it, and that remains true with "Life on the Color Line". Gregory Howard Williams should continue to write as he has a gift for character development and a flow to his writing that keeps you enraptured throughout.
This is a fascinating tale of two young boys who truly lived on the color line. An unusual perspective, they can tell the joys and sorrows of living both a privileged white life and a persecuted black life. I hope to see more work from Mr. Williams. I was only disappointed in the end, when he stopped his enthralling story in his mid-college years and spent the last 3 pages wrapping up the rest of his life. With his gift for writing, I'm certain he could have written a sequel about the succeeding 30 years of his life with just as much fine detail, thoughtful emotion and keen insight as the first 20 years. This book is a must-read, especially for those affected by prejudice today as well as those with a heart for multiculturalism.
|
|
|
Sarah A. Jones (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
Greg and I were in the same class, graduating from Muncie (IN.)Central High School in 1962. He always seemed to be rather guarded....kind of a shy guy in many ways. But that is quite understandable. He had to be that way. Most likely, he was not ever sure what the agenda was of others who surrounded him. God knows, he was ostracized by people of both predominant races in Muncie at that time. That was apparent. Becoming a basketball legend changed that to some degree. I was even disowned by a female cousin of mine because I danced with a black girl at a 7th grade record hop back when it was acceptable for girls to dance with other girls! The girl remained a friend of mine throughout our school days (for Greg's knowledge, this was Sylvia M.). Moreover, I worked (in H.S.) with the mother of the white girl he eventually married. It is too bad that her family chose to disown her, but I am proud of her for standing up to them and following her heart. |
|
|
Theodore Christopher (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
Very few people in America could have imagined a life like Greg Williams had. His life and experiences were so unique that there couldn't have been a more appropriate title than "Life on the Color Line." The blatant racism he encounters all through his childhood and teenage years while trying to just grow-up and be a normal kid is something that American should be ashamed of when remembering this time in our history. Anyone that thinks racism wasn't THAT bad back then should read this book, reading about his perspective should definitely change their mind.
Greg started growing up as a young white boy in Virginia. His life was pretty normal for him and his "white" family at that time. His father successfully passed as white, even though he had black blood running through his veins. He had a couple of successful business ventures, the most notable of which was a booming cafe/diner, which of course adherred to the laws of segregation. Greg's mother was white in the true sense of the term, and she seemed to care for her children deeply as any mother should.
Everything was perfect for Greg and his family until misfortune hits and the veil is pulled off the charade of his father's false life. In a poetic justice type of moment the father's life in Virginia is devastated and shaken literally back to his roots. It looks initially like Greg and his brother Mike will stay with their mother in Virginia, but they have to tag along with their father back to Indiana where all 3 of their lives are changed forever.
Back in Muncie, Indiana, the book almost splits into 3 separate interesting stories: Greg's life, his brother Mike's life, and the father's. Their struggles bring a new meaning to tough times. Greg and his brother now have to blend into the black community which isn't easy, all while they are summarily rejected by the white community, and most painful of all an apparent rejection by their mother.
There are a lot of negatives in their lives now dealing with their living situation, and ... people which are almost laughable. One situation that stands out are the two school officals that get upset at his expressing any interest in white girls, but then the same people are angry when he is marching with a black girl during graduation. However, through all the negativity there is one person that shows how powerful Christian love can be as she adopts them and tries to keep them on the right path.
Greg and Mike's experiences and ongoing fight with racism hardly let you put the book down. I couldn't wait to see how they were going to handle each new situation. Once in a while there is a true story comes along that rivals any fiction, this is one of them!
|
|
|
Byron Hughes (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
I was a graduate student at Ball State University, and this book was a required reading for a course I was taking. For someone that did not grow up in Muncie, IN this book provided a solid perspective of the history of this area. What's even better is that I have been able to recommend it to friends and family on the East Coast that had virtually no knowledge of Muncie, In-a city that was once part of the historical "Middletown" study. Gregory Williams provided a powerful account of the racial intolerance he faced and his struggle for an identity during his childhood years. The evolution of his relationship with his father is one you will want to follow to the end. Not only was his narrative a compelling one, but his style of writing kept me captivated throughout. There were few books that were required reading for me in college that I truly enjoyed, and felt had significant meaning. Whether you read it for class or pleasure, you will be amazed by the story of Gregory Williams. At the conclusion of this true story you will honestly want to know more!!
|
|
|
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
If any person has ever doubted whether racism has existed in America this book should convince them that it has, as seen through the innocence of a young boy and his brother. Imagine growing up believing you are "white" with its accompanying acceptance at all levels of society. Now imagine that you discover that you are really "black" and will forever be judged by your "blackness" first and foremost, no matter what you achieve in your life. Add to this identity problem a mother that deserts her sons at the tender ages of 8 and 9 at the same time they are placed in their alcoholic father's black community. A burden for their father, not black enough for their environment and rejected by the white community they find love and a home with an amazing black woman, Miss Dora. This book has forever inspired me to believe in the value of each child and discourage racist attitudes wherever I encounter them.
|
|
|
Bennis Blue (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
I came to read this book as an assignment in preparation for my oral exams in defense of the PhD in English from The Ohio State University. Initially, I resisted reading the book thinking it was "just another story of a White person trying to make some money off a trend involving Black people. However, when I finally sat down to read the book, I found Gregory Williams' story so compelling that I could not put it down until I had read every word two days later. When Dean Williams first arrived at OSU as the Law School Dean, scholars fervently debated the finer points of his book and students flocked to hear him speak. After having actually read the text, I can understand why they were drawn to this man. He describes in heart-wrenching details the privations he and his brother endured when they were forced to remove themselves from the life of White privilege in Virginia to one where survival in Muncie, Indiana meant learning quickly the cold hard facts of being Black in skin that appeared to be White. The family friend who took Gregory and his brother into her home is the only character who stands out as more memorable than the boys' alcoholic paternal grandmother. No reader could sit dry-eyed through a reading of this book where two innocent children were scorned and battered by relatives, peers, and strangers alike. Gregory Williams is to be admired for withstanding the agony of his unusual upbringing and the marvelous outcome as he now holds a superlative position in one of the nation's most prestigious universities that prides itself on the number of minority doctorates it produces. My only puzzlement following the reading of the book and viewing the family Dean Williams built, is that he seems to have ended up with a very "White-looking" family and so he seems to perpetuate the same image of self-hate that he describes his father as producing. However, Williams is truly to be commended for his superb handling of a "race" issue that confronts a society which declares that there is no biological basis in race-all Blacks are not always all Black (F. James Davis) and more multi-racial writers and scholars need to step forward and be recognized.
|
|
|
Chris Green (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
This book is masterfully put together. It's a memoir but it is also an excellent piece of literature. It may sometimes be very unpleasant but it is very real. I really liked it.
As the author's father is on the train from Virginia with his ten and nine year old sons, the author Greg and Mike respectively, after his white wife fled his violent alcoholism with their two other children, heading for Muncie Indiana after his previously modestly profitable business enterprises, including a tavern, had collapsed, he informs them that he is not Italian as they had always assumed but half-black, the product of a wealthy white Kentucky man and his black maid.
Their father, a dreadful alcoholic, eventually settles himself and his two sons with his mother in Muncie who is also an alcoholic, in her hideous shack which is a hang out for all sorts of neighborhood low life. The boys are eventually rescued by a widow of a prominent local hustler whom they call "Miss Dora" a fifty two year old black lady who is very poor but strongly motivated vis a vis the boys by religous conviction and she lets them live with her. She is well acquainted with their father.
Their father Anthony or "Buster", is probably the most picturesque figure throughout the book. He seems to have been one of the greatest hustlers in the history of humanity. He spents alot of his time in the shack with his mother drinking and fighting with her. He spends the rest of the time working odd jobs dragging his sons along to help out, gambling, swindling rummage sale clerks, asking for favors and money from local politicians and policeman, bar hopping and visiting the local brothel as well as engaging in sex with any woman willing (his abilities in this area have a high local reputation). My favorite episode involving him is when heleaps up on the podium to kiss John F. Kennedy who was campaiging in Muncie in 1960 and waves to a cheering crowd.
The author was clearly regarded in Muncie and under the circumstances was forced to call himself black which he did not shrink from but was forced to endure pretty abominable racism. He was an excellent student and a pretty good athlete but the only serious guidance he got from counsellors or teachers throughout his schooling were stern warnings after he was caught engaging in suspiscious behavior with a white girl in a secluded part of school. He was always very dilligent and polite and was particularly grateful to Miss Dora whose home shielded him and his brother somewhat from the vulgarity and violence of his father's life and to whom he gave all the income that he and his brother could muster from working odd jobs. But his father excersised a greater and greater alcohol-inspired tyranny over them as they got older though his wrath was directed the most at Greg.
This book contains a very vivid portrayal of the violence and misery of life in 1950's America. Not exactly "Ozzie and Harriet." The author portrays very well his teenage years where his environment at his junior high and high school both of which contained a mixture of black and white students was very racially volatile. Towards the end of high school, he ends up falling in love with a pretty white girl named Sara whom he he will marry in 1969 but not before alot of pain particularly from her side as she experiences the hostility and ostracism of her family and anyone else who finds out she is in love with a "Negro" and participating in civil rights activism. His youth was in many ways what one would expect in an environment full of dreadful poverty and apathy. On the other hand it was a pretty typical American male youth.
The author is very far from reticient in dealing with matters involving sex. In his social circle sex or at least talking often about it was a big part of achieving one's maturity, though Greg always was far behind many of his friends particularly his closest friend Brian Settles. Though he did have quite some interesting experiences with a pretty young gal named Hattie including when he was fifteen in Miss Dora's living room engaging in intense carnal stimulation while Miss Dora, Hattie's mother and his grandmother were in the next room. He ran up excitedly to his room in the atic and carried down with him his pencil pouch from school and Hattie said.......
There are alot of memorable or perhaps fascinatingly grotesque characters in this book. Like Fred Badders, a white man, twenty five years his grandmothers's junior but utterly hideous looking who shows up at his grandmother's house every time her social security check comes in and he allows her to use him sexually. Or his brother Mike who becomes involved with various gangsters and moves into a violent and very poor housing project in Chicago with one of his ladies and ends up sleeping with, among a good many women, a student teacher at his high school and two fourty year old women including "Bernice" and Mike at one point tells his brother about a time that he had his dad were lying in bed with her and......Oh boy, anyway I should rap this up. Mike eventually straigtened out though not before he lost his eyesight in a shooting.
Anyway a remarkable achievement. The author, who is currently a professor of law, is able to tell his story in a very unpretensious and intelligent way. There is quite a few grotesque and shocking episodes in this book but they are molded into a story which is very real.
|
|
|
|
1 Total 1 pages 8 items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
