Lit Log- the Color of Water

My book so far is about racism.  This white woman is living in New York City with her black family which include about five kids and a black husband.  Of course though, she faces problems because of that.  This is a time where interracial families aren't really prominent.  And black people were not accepted ion society yet (even though it's not like we are now).

This book is based on one child interviewing his mother and asking her questions about her past.  And at the same time, he is talking about his own life.  At the beginning, he described his teenage years briefly.  It seemed as though he was rebellious.  He was also embarrassed of the fact that he had a white mother and he was black.  While he was younger, he never noticed that his mother was different than him until he went to school.  As he got older, he realized that his mother was a different race than him and him and his family had to get through some racial issues as they traveled around the city.

One passage that I found interesting was when the book said, "When Malcolm X, the supposed demon of the white man, was killed, I asked her who he was and she said, 'He was a man ahead of his time.' "  I agree with that .  I liked her view on Malcolm X because she was right.  At that time, a man who wanted to unify  black and white people at that time was most definitely ahead of his time.  At that time, America wasn't ready for that big of a change.

Another part that i liked was when the mother said, "You don't need money. What's money if your mind is empty!  Educate your mind! Is this world crazy or am I the crazy one? It's probably me."  Maybe she was a little crazy but she did have a point.  If you're empty-headed but you have a lot of money, what purpose is that.  And besides, you could still make money if you have knowledge that's worth-while.  Of course you need to make a living in the world.  But is you have no kind of knowledge to show for it then it won't matter anyway.

This section of The Color of Water reminds me of some racism that I have dealt with in my life.  Seeing as though I'm a black teenager and I live in a neighboorhood with the majority of the poeple being white, if I go to the store, I can tell that I get bad looks from people.  Like this one time, I was in the store and I saw the manager following me.  He didn't think that I noticed but I did.  He thought that I was going to steal something.  But what they don't know is that my parents raised me better than that.  I don't really care how you view me.  But if you come up to me and say something racist, discriminatory, or say some stereotypical comment about black people, I will blow up and that's a natural reaction.  

Probablt waht's going to happen next is that the author will get deeper into his life and his mother's life.