Editor's Choice
What is the significance of the following quote in The Color of Water?
"But there was a part of me that feared black power very deeply for the obvious reason. I thought black power would be the end of my mother. I had swallowed the white man's fear of the Negro, as we were called back then, whole."
Quick answer:
This quote highlights James McBride's struggle with his mixed racial identity and internalized racism. Growing up in a black neighborhood, he feared the "black power" movement might threaten his white Jewish mother, reflecting his absorption of white societal fears. It underscores his journey to reconcile his racial duality, understanding that black empowerment doesn't equate to domination or threat. This fear and identity conflict are central themes in The Color of Water.
The quotation is important because it illustrates one of the book's main themes: how difficult it was for McBride to come to terms with his mixed racial heritage and forge his own identity.
Though brought up black in a black neighborhood, the very notion of black power still filled him with much foreboding. He internalized white society's prevailing racist notions to such an extent that he shared the generalized fear of black people as somehow dangerous and savage. McBride therefore needed to overcome this fear if he was to develop a stable racial identity.
But this was easier said than done. First, he needed to accept that black power is not necessarily the same as black domination and that it therefore represents no threat to people like his white Jewish mother. Only then was he be able to embrace his blackness while at the same time affirming his mixed racial...
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heritage.
This is a great question and a great quote. The Color of Water by James McBride explores the author's quest for his identity. While everyone is on this journey to some degree, McBride has good reason to feel conflicted and confused about his place in the world. One of the two primary sources of identity and conflict for McBride is religion (his mother is Jewish but works for most of her adult life to hide that fact). The other is race, and this is the focus of the quote you cite.
McBride's father was black and his mother Ruth is obviously white, though in every possible way his mother denies her whiteness. She lives most of her life in a predominantly black neighborhood in New York City and raises her children to be black in every way except their educations. Though Ruth is relatively colorblind, this is a racially charged time and the black militant movement is gaining momentum. It was not always safe to be a white person in the middle of this environment.
This quote expresses a black son's fear for his white mother. He is afraid the "black power" movement will result in harm to his white mother--an odd feeling for someone who is also black. When he says,
"I had swallowed the white man's fear of the Negro, as we were called back then, whole,"
he is admitting that he believes what most white people of the time believed--that all blacks were out to somehow conquer or destroy the oppressive white world.
The search for racial identity which is a major theme in this book is perfectly demonstrated through this quote.