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Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black
Gregory Howard Williams and his younger brother, Mike, grew up believing they were white and that their darkskinned father was of Italian descent. Then their parents' marriage disintegrated, their mother departed, and their father's business ventures sank into a sea of liquor. Pursued by debt and personal demons, "Tony" Williams took his two boys to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, where he was known as "Buster, " and where there was no escape from the truth he had hidden for so long. The truth was as plain as the color of Buster's family. Gregory and Mike Williams were the sons of a brilliant and charming but troubled black man who fled the burden of race until need drove him back to his roots. Suddenly Gregory and Mike discovered they were black as well, strangers in a segregated world about which they knew nothing, forced to learn the strategies of survival amid the poverty, prejudice, and agonizing absurdities of a time and place where racism flourished. In this extraordinary and powerful memoir, Gregory Howard Williams recounts his remarkable journey along the color line and illuminates the contrasts between the black and white worlds: one of privilege, opportunity, and comfort, the other of deprivation, repression, and struggle. He tells the story of his father, a self-destructive man who often neglected his children, yet had faith in his eldest son's ability to succeed in the face of nearly insurmountable obstacles. Of "Miss Dora, " a loving family friend who gave Gregory and his brother the food they ate, the clothes on their backs, and the roof over their heads - all on a salary of just twenty-five dollars per week. Of the hostility and prejudice he encountered all too often,from both blacks and whites, and the surprising moments of encouragement and acceptance he found from each. Williams tells the story, too, of the divergent paths he and his brother eventually took, one defying the odds and the advice of teachers and counselors to become a lawyer, th
Book Details
- Publisher: Plume Books
- Publish Date: Feb 1st, 1996
- Pages: 304
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 7.95in - 5.27in - 0.81in - 0.55lb
- EAN: 9780452275331
- Recommended age: 18-UP
- Categories: • Cultural & Regional• Memoirs
About the Author
Gregory Howard Williams is an attorney, law school professor, and the former President of the University of Cincinnati (2009-2012) and the City College of New York (2001-2009). He is the author of Life on the Color Line.
Praise for this book
Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
"Affecting and absorbing."--Publishers Weekly "A moving story of growing up on both sides of the nation's racial thicket... A powerful tale of a young man's struggle on the cusp of the nation's racial conflicts and confusions."--Booklist "A triumph of storytelling as well as a triumph of spirit."--Alex Kotlowitz, award-winning author of There Are No Children Here "Heartbreaking and uplifting... a searing book about race and prejudice in America... brims with insights that only someone who has lived on both sides of the racial divide could gain."--Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Affecting and absorbing."--Publishers Weekly "A moving story of growing up on both sides of the nation's racial thicket... A powerful tale of a young man's struggle on the cusp of the nation's racial conflicts and confusions."--Booklist "A triumph of storytelling as well as a triumph of spirit."--Alex Kotlowitz, award-winning author of There Are No Children Here "Heartbreaking and uplifting... a searing book about race and prejudice in America... brims with insights that only someone who has lived on both sides of the racial divide could gain."--Cleveland Plain Dealer