Black, White, And Jewish - 2360 Words

Rebecca Walker throughout the book â€Å"Black, White, and Jewish† portrays multiple identities that help her to understand herself and let others understand her as well. Rebecca Walker defines herself as a Movement Child, someone who is a child born during and as an outcome of the Civil Rights movement. Walker states, I am not a ***, the product of a rape, the child of some white devil. I am a Movement Child, (24). Though she labels herself with this nickname, it captures more than just the conditions neighboring her birth because during the beginning of Rebecca Walker s life, she was always in motion, figuratively and literally. After the divorce of Walkers parents, Walker swapped homes, living with each parent for two years at a time in numerous cities and states from Mississippi, to Brooklyn, to San Francisco, to even Washington, D.C. While she was literally in movement from city to city and state to state, Walker was also in movement figuratively with her identities and p ersonality. Depending on where she was living, Rebecca Walker was either white, black, or Jewish. Walker s identity catastrophe was a consequence of her parents’ divorce and also a consequence of her being a biracial baby in the ‘70s. Her identity crisis was also a result of her having felt like she was an outcast no matter her whereabouts. Although her mother s family always greeted her with open arms and was cordial with her, some of her cousins never overlooked that she was a biracial kid. TheyShow MoreRelatedBlack White And Jewish By Rebecca Walker845 Words   |  4 Pages Imagine you don’t know who you are supposed to be. No matter where you turn, you feel as though you don’t meet the criteria for fitting in and fitting in is the one thing that you wish to be able to do. In Rebecca Walker’s autobiography, Black White and Jewish, she tells the story of her childhood and how the events that took place when she was growing up and how they ultimat ely molded her into the person she is today. It is arguably more difficult to grow up as a mixed race child, than a singleRead MoreThe History and Culture of Black Jews in America Essay1178 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to the broadest definition, there are approximately 9 million Jewish adults in America. Of those, 5.3 million are Jewish because they practice the Jewish religion or who have a Jewish parent and consider themselves Jewish. Non-hispanic blacks make up 2% of that population. (A Portrait of Jewish Americans) Blacks constitute such a small percentage of the Jewish population that they are often considered to be obviously â€Å"not Jewish†. This was the experience of Rabbi Shlomo ben Levy.In an articleRead MoreThe Color Of Water By James Mcbride1727 Words   |  7 PagesThe Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his Mother The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother written by James McBride is a miraculous memoir about James’ and his mother’s life. He describes in detail what it was like growing up in a household with a white mother, a black father, and eleven black siblings. Biracial marriages and families were not the norm and nor was it accepted by society during that time. James encountered many misfortunes growing up and was constantlyRead MoreSymbolism Of The Film And The Mouse Hole1386 Words   |  6 Pagesbut not the least symbols are the list, the animals, and the black and white scenes. The list both appeared throughout the film and novel giving a big impact to the Jewish people that were included in the Holocaust, The black and white scenes also have a big impact on the film too, leaving you wondering why it was filmed in a certain way. The symbolism of the little girl in the film, the list, the animals, and the scenes in black and white also in the film and the novel are essential for the messageRead MoreThe Color Of Water By James Mcbride1150 Words   |  5 Pageslife of a Jewish mother, Ruth McBride Jordan, and then in the life of her black son, James. Growing up in Suffolk Virginia, Ruth McBride was abused by her Orthodox Jewish rabbi father as she was forced to work very long hours in their family store. Since love was not something that was simply provided by her father, she instead finds love in the arms of a black man. In a turn of events, Ruth ends up marrying another Christian black man and has children with him. However, she hides her Jewish backgroundRead MoreThe Ghetto By Mitchell Duneier1048 Words   |  5 Pagesinvention of the Jewish ghettos back in Italy in the 1500’s, Jewish ghettos in the World War II era, and the black ghettos of Chicago, Harlem, and other large cities in the early 1940’s through our current period. The author, Mitchell Duneier, took the work of some of the world’s most renowned artifacts of history and of today and wrote a book that is directly correlated to the devastated of racism, segregation, and discrimination. The book describes the direct outcome of â€Å"white suprem acy† in theRead More After coming to America Essay1655 Words   |  7 Pagessegments of our American society, people substituted a reliance on family, or friends, or even faith alone, to secure these benefits for themselves and their children that was denied them by those possessing economic and political power. Most blacks came to America involuntarily. Sold as slaves in Africa, they were brought to America as laborers. Being slaves, they were legally considered property and thus were excluded from the legal protections that other people living in America were entitledRead MoreRacism Is Not A Physical Action1533 Words   |  7 PagesSolomon Northup a free Black man sold into slavery in Southern United States recalls in his memoir 12 Years A Slave being threatened by his white masters for being able to read and write. Not only did Blacks such as Northup suffer from the structural violence that was slavery, but also from institutionalized racism in the school system. Racism is more than a single person s actions towards another based on skin color. Racism is â€Å" the belief that all members of each race possess certain characteristicsRead MoreThe Color Of Water By James Mcbride953 Words   |  4 Pagesof Water, James McBride’s autobiography and tribute to his mother, gives the rea der a look into his childhood and growing up biracial. James McBride was born to an African-American father and a Polish Jewish immigrant mother in 1957. While James was too young to fully grasp the civil rights and black power events that took place in the 1960s, he recounts experiencing these events vicariously through his older siblings. James McBride does a marvelous job at painting a vivid picture for his readersRead MoreThe Fire Next Time By James Baldwin1394 Words   |  6 Pagesimpact of history and politics. Although Baldwin’s main focus was not politics it is nonetheless an important aspect of the racial segregation because it was how the laws were interpreted that constituted the crime. Even though the law was not on the black populations side Baldwin was hopeful for the future and through politics and history he believed that â€Å"we can make America whet America must become,† a state that sees people of all races as equal; and the best way of changing Am erica is by learning