"The color of Water" by James McBride.

Essay by hkim1215High School, 10th grade May 2003

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When will we see equality among different races? Racism can be defined as a discrimination or prejudice based on race and a belief that a particular race is superior to others. According to Christian theology, all humans have two ancestors, Adam and Eve. All humans are brothers and sisters but the unique heritable traits caused by different environments caused humans to look certain ways. This, when compiled with ignorance, gives rise to racism. Racism has been around for a long time, and its effects are still being seen. In the book The Color of Water by James McBride, the son of a black minister and a white mother, is a remarkable story of the struggles that he and his mother faced during segregation in 1940-1970's. Having a white mother and a black father, James McBride became unsure about his racial identity. His white mother refused to reveal her past and as a result, James became more frustrated.

Eventually saw her as a source of embarrassment and confusion. James McBride, in his autobiography The Color of Water, describes the hurdles he faced as a biracial youth growing up in a segregated society. In this overwhelming racist society, his family fought against the culture and triumphed over racism in their own ways.

Jim Crow laws were referred to as racial discrimination toward blacks. It violated and separated whites from blacks, blacks from whites. Concerning marriage,

"All marriages between a white person and a Negro, or between a white person and a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of the Malay race; or between

the Negro and a member of the Malay race; or between a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of...