Passing

I strongly recommend reading Nella Larsen's Passing (1929). This is a powerful piece of American literature that captures one vision of the complexity of race politics in our society. It was written during the Harlem Renaissance (1920's-1930's), a prolific period of African-American writing. Main characters Irene and Claire are mixed-race (half-black, half-white) women struggling to find their place in pre-civil rights American society. Each of them "passes" as white women in upper middle-class and upper class white New York (Manhattan) society. Themes about ambiguity, invisibility, sisterhood as well as betrayal flow throughout the story.

I encourage readers to try to put themselves in the shoes of these characters and imagine a world, a real American reality, where you must navigate through a severely racially divided society in which your skin color (and phenotypes) determines your treatment as human beings as well as your access to resources for good living.
Passing is a great book to spark debates over personal and societal morality. This book provides a rare look into a world of "passing" -- pretending to have one racial identity to conceal one's true race as a means to survive under oppression. Larsen does comment on the psychological consequences that can consume the person through the life decisions Irene and Claire make. The main characters' perspectives can teach the reader about what life was like for some African-American women in the late 1920's in Harlem.

I personally appreciate the story because I am an African-American woman who has many relatives who grew up under the cruel oppression of American racial apartheid. Some of my loved ones had to make intense decisions about "passing" to access a bathroom, gas station or restaurant while their own loved ones (children and wives) were too dark "to pass". Some of my mother's side is currently passing as white having disowned the rest of us. I have never met them.

The history of our nation, the root of our identities as citizens living together, living under the Constitution asks all of us to follow a "moral compass" of how to treat each other. Unfortunately, the characters in Larsen's masterpiece as well as people in real life (like my elders including my beloved mother) had to navigate the treacherous waters of racism challenging their self-identities as Americans and sense of self worth as human beings.

I encourage you to open your mind and gain compassion for those who had to "pass" to survive. Also pay attention to the internal conflict they face, the war inside these "passers" as they felt compelled to hide who they were. I am sure a lot of young people can relate to that feeling in some way especially in high school.
For those of you interested in learning more read Caucasia (1998) by Danzy Senna, another story very related but involving the struggles of a young girl passing as white in the 1970-80's New England area. This is real. It in some ways still happens for people to survive an internal conflict in their minds about their self-worth. Good luck with all of your work and thank you for reading.

(originally posted at: School Reform Torch Runner)