Race is, according to Merriam-webster.com (2015), “any one of the groups that human beings can be divided into based on shared distinctive physical traits”. One’s race is something that is usually noticed right away. Oftentimes, race has traits that are visibly distinguishable. These distinguishable traits include skin color, which is the most visible distinguished trait regarding race, hair texture, and other facial features. When individuals come from interracial marriages, which is a child born from parents of different races, these physical traits can become blurred (Healey & O’Brien, 2015, p. 16-18). In the book Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, Walker explains how she struggled growing
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For instance, when she was young and taking ballet class and Walker could not perform a certain move, her white teacher informed her, as well as telling the rest of the class, that there were no black ballerinas because their bodies were not made for it (Walker, 2001, p. 67; “Publishers Weekly Review,” 2015). When Walker was in school or around others, she compared herself to those she was around. She was either the “light skinned” girl, the “black” girl, or the one that nobody knew what she was. This caused Walker to have limited friends because nobody understood where exactly she fit in. Oftentimes, if she was friends with someone, after a while, society ended up changing that friend’s perspective about Walker based upon her skin color and they were no longer friends. Some of Walker’s boyfriends even broke up with her because she was not seen as “black enough”. When she was living with her dad and was away at Jewish camp, Camp Fire Lake, she was one of two black campers and even though she was voted for the role of song leader, she was declined by the camp counselors because she was seen as being “loud” and “tough” compared to the other campers (Walker, …show more content…
Rebecca Walker was born in November during 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi (“Rebecca Walker Biography,” 2015; Walker, 2001, p. 18). Even though biracial marriage had been illegal during this time, Walker’s mother and father were the first biracial couple to legally marry in Mississippi (“Rebecca Walker Biography,” 2015). Walker’s mother is from Georgia and was a black writer and activist. Her father, Mel Laventhal, is from New York. Laventhal is a white Jewish lawyer that was helping black civil rights (Walker, 2001, p. 18; Lester, 2003, p. 136). After Walker was born, they all moved to live in New York (Shelden, 2001; “Rebecca Walker Biography,” 2015). Walker’s first racial identity struggles began while she was young and occurred in her own family. As a child, her father’s family did not accept her black mother and therefore she never came to family gatherings. Walker’s great-grandmother also did not acknowledge Walker when she would go over to her house with her grandmother. Her mother’s family was accepting of her; however, they would use racial slang regarding her actions (Walker, 2001, p. 37-62). When her parents got a divorce when she was eight years old, she split her time between the two parents. For two years she
For instance, when she was young and taking ballet class and Walker could not perform a certain move, her white teacher informed her, as well as telling the rest of the class, that there were no black ballerinas because their bodies were not made for it (Walker, 2001, p. 67; “Publishers Weekly Review,” 2015). When Walker was in school or around others, she compared herself to those she was around. She was either the “light skinned” girl, the “black” girl, or the one that nobody knew what she was. This caused Walker to have limited friends because nobody understood where exactly she fit in. Oftentimes, if she was friends with someone, after a while, society ended up changing that friend’s perspective about Walker based upon her skin color and they were no longer friends. Some of Walker’s boyfriends even broke up with her because she was not seen as “black enough”. When she was living with her dad and was away at Jewish camp, Camp Fire Lake, she was one of two black campers and even though she was voted for the role of song leader, she was declined by the camp counselors because she was seen as being “loud” and “tough” compared to the other campers (Walker, …show more content…
Rebecca Walker was born in November during 1969 in Jackson, Mississippi (“Rebecca Walker Biography,” 2015; Walker, 2001, p. 18). Even though biracial marriage had been illegal during this time, Walker’s mother and father were the first biracial couple to legally marry in Mississippi (“Rebecca Walker Biography,” 2015). Walker’s mother is from Georgia and was a black writer and activist. Her father, Mel Laventhal, is from New York. Laventhal is a white Jewish lawyer that was helping black civil rights (Walker, 2001, p. 18; Lester, 2003, p. 136). After Walker was born, they all moved to live in New York (Shelden, 2001; “Rebecca Walker Biography,” 2015). Walker’s first racial identity struggles began while she was young and occurred in her own family. As a child, her father’s family did not accept her black mother and therefore she never came to family gatherings. Walker’s great-grandmother also did not acknowledge Walker when she would go over to her house with her grandmother. Her mother’s family was accepting of her; however, they would use racial slang regarding her actions (Walker, 2001, p. 37-62). When her parents got a divorce when she was eight years old, she split her time between the two parents. For two years she