Student Question
Who is Brian Settles in Life on the Color Line and what is his mom's occupation?
Quick answer:
In Life on the Color Line, Brian Settles is a new friend of Greg, and his mother is a children's librarian. Despite initially facing barriers as a Black woman unable to secure a teaching position, she pursued her goals and became a librarian. Mrs. Settles, who met Greg's father in college, encourages Greg and Brian to dream and provides them with nurturing support, both materially and emotionally.
In Gregory Howard Williams's book Life on the Color Line, Brian Settles is a new boy who becomes Greg's friend, and Brian's mother is a children's librarian, much to Greg's delight. Let's look at this in more detail.
After a game of hide-and-seek, Brian invites Greg to his house to watch TV. Greg quickly takes him up on that offer, since there is not a TV where he lives, and he meets Brian's mother. Mrs. Settles knows Greg's dad, and Greg immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion that she must go to Bob's Tavern. This could not be further from the truth. The two met in college at Ball State. Mrs. Settles graduated with her degree, but Greg's dad did not.
Mrs. Settles, as a Black woman, could not get a teaching job and ended up cleaning houses. She never gave up chasing after her goals, though, and now she is a librarian, ready to guide Greg through a wonderful world of books. She also encourages the boys to hold onto and chase after their own dreams. "She fed us," Greg says, "body and soul."
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