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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In her book, Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, Walker mentioned that she noticed that her father’s family, which was white and Jewish, treated her mother differently. For instance, when Laventhal’s mother would visit their house, she will not look at Walker’s mother when she talked to her. Walker also noticed that her mother never went over to her father’s family’s house when she and her father would go over there to visit or for holidays. This had Walker questioning if she belonged with her father’s family. She frequently wondered how she fit in. Walker’s grandmother would often tell her not to forget that she was a “Jew” despite what her parents tell her. Her great-grandmother never even looked at Walker or talked to her when she would go over to her house with her grandmother. The same struggles can be said for Walker’s mother family. Even though they did not treat her any differently growing up, Walker’s uncle and cousins would make racial comments around her. For instance, when Walker was being silly and acting a different way than her uncle and cousins, they would say that we was acting this way because she had the “crackers”. When Walker was older, she was not as close to her cousins as she was growing up. She recalled seeing one cousin out in public and she did not know how to act towards him because of the way he regarded …show more content…
Stereotypes are according to Healey & O’Brien (2015, p. 21), “generalizations that are thought to characterize groups as a whole”. An example of this was when Walker was young and taking ballet class and there was a certain move that she could not perform. 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). Another example of how Walker was stereotyped against was when she was living with her dad and was away at Jewish camp named Camp Fire Lake. Walker was one of two black campers and even though she was voted for the role of Sing Leader, she was declined by the camp counselors because she was seen as being “too loud” and “too tough” compared to the other campers When Walker was in school or around others, she would compare herself to those she was around never knowing how to act accordingly (Walker,
In her book, Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, Walker mentioned that she noticed that her father’s family, which was white and Jewish, treated her mother differently. For instance, when Laventhal’s mother would visit their house, she will not look at Walker’s mother when she talked to her. Walker also noticed that her mother never went over to her father’s family’s house when she and her father would go over there to visit or for holidays. This had Walker questioning if she belonged with her father’s family. She frequently wondered how she fit in. Walker’s grandmother would often tell her not to forget that she was a “Jew” despite what her parents tell her. Her great-grandmother never even looked at Walker or talked to her when she would go over to her house with her grandmother. The same struggles can be said for Walker’s mother family. Even though they did not treat her any differently growing up, Walker’s uncle and cousins would make racial comments around her. For instance, when Walker was being silly and acting a different way than her uncle and cousins, they would say that we was acting this way because she had the “crackers”. When Walker was older, she was not as close to her cousins as she was growing up. She recalled seeing one cousin out in public and she did not know how to act towards him because of the way he regarded …show more content…
Stereotypes are according to Healey & O’Brien (2015, p. 21), “generalizations that are thought to characterize groups as a whole”. An example of this was when Walker was young and taking ballet class and there was a certain move that she could not perform. 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). Another example of how Walker was stereotyped against was when she was living with her dad and was away at Jewish camp named Camp Fire Lake. Walker was one of two black campers and even though she was voted for the role of Sing Leader, she was declined by the camp counselors because she was seen as being “too loud” and “too tough” compared to the other campers When Walker was in school or around others, she would compare herself to those she was around never knowing how to act accordingly (Walker,