Margo Jefferson's Negroland: A Memoir

Margo Jefferson’s Negroland: A Memoir, was written to provide a unique perspective on the upper class African-American community. Jefferson names this group of people “Negroland,” and explores how her childhood and the historical presence of this elite African-American society has shaped her as an adult. The memoir is divided into five major sections that discuss Negroland in America, Jefferson’s childhood, her struggle with depression, her adult life, and feminism-the focus of Jefferson’s later years. The structure of Negroland is a partially chronological story of Jefferson’s life, with each section representing a phase in the evolution of Jefferson’s values and personal struggles with racial identity and pride.
Jefferson begins her memoir …show more content…
This section of the memoir is the largest, and focuses primarily on the standards that Jefferson and her sister were expected to follow. The most prominent standards recalled by Jefferson are those concerning appearance. Jefferson explains that “Beauty standards for girls are stringent in 1950s Negroland. Negro girls must be vigilant about their perceived deficiencies” (Jefferson 52). The pressures of Negroland molded Jefferson’s view of herself and other women, whether or not they were African-American. These beauty standards held to the women of Negroland were a reflection of the importance of blending in among the white community. In addition to physical appearance, members of Negroland were expected to behave in a way that was acceptable amongst the white community, to receive education at esteemed schools, and to take interest in the right hobbies, specifically those involving the fine arts. Jefferson explained that the lifestyle of upper class African-Americans was so controlled, that members of Negroland considered themselves a “Third Race”- not quite white and not quite black (Jefferson 51). The harsh social conditions of Jefferson’s childhood reveals how her personality and values were developed. Without this incite on the Jefferson’s experience with Negroland as a child, the audience would be unable to fully understand the impact that race would have on Jefferson in her adult years. This section is critical to the semi-chronological structure of the memoir. The recurring emphasis of the importance of race in Jefferson’s life is also present in this section, tying it to the rest of the book. This section goes more in depth with Jefferson’s personal struggle with race, which will remain a consistent theme for the duration of the