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Damn Near White: An African American Family's Rise from Slavery to Bittersweet Success, by Carolyn Marie Wilkins
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Carolyn Wilkins grew up defending her racial identity. Because of her light complexion and wavy hair, she spent years struggling to convince others that she was black. Her family’s prominence set Carolyn’s experiences even further apart from those of the average African American. Her father and uncle were well-known lawyers who had graduated from Harvard Law School. Another uncle had been a child prodigy and protégé of Albert Einstein. And her grandfather had been America's first black assistant secretary of labor.
Carolyn's parents insisted she follow the color-conscious rituals of Chicago's elite black bourgeoisie—experiences Carolyn recalls as some of the most miserable of her entire life. Only in the company of her mischievous Aunt Marjory, a woman who refused to let the conventions of “proper” black society limit her, does Carolyn feel a true connection to her family's African American heritage.
When Aunt Marjory passes away, Carolyn inherits ten bulging scrapbooks filled with family history and memories. What she finds in these photo albums inspires her to discover the truth about her ancestors—a quest that will eventually involve years of research, thousands of miles of travel, and much soul-searching.
Carolyn learns that her great-grandfather John Bird Wilkins was born into slavery and went on to become a teacher, inventor, newspaperman, renegade Baptist minister, and a bigamist who abandoned five children. And when she discovers that her grandfather J. Ernest Wilkins may have been forced to resign from his labor department post by members of the Eisenhower administration, Carolyn must confront the bittersweet fruits of her family's generations-long quest for status and approval.
Damn Near White is an insider’s portrait of an unusual American family. Readers will be drawn into Carolyn’s journey as she struggles to redefine herself in light of the long-buried secrets she uncovers. Tackling issues of class, color, and caste, Wilkins reflects on the changes of African American life in U.S. history through her dedicated search to discover her family’s powerful story.
- Sales Rank: #605574 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Hardcover
- Published on: 2010-10-10
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.00" w x 6.13" l, 1.21 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 192 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Booklist
Wilkins, a jazz musician and scholar, grew up in a very accomplished family so light-skinned that many could—and some did—cross the color line. Her grandfather was J. Ernest Wilkins, the nation’s first black cabinet member, likely forced from his position as labor secretary during the Eisenhower administration because of his race. Following the death of her aunt Marjory, the family’s colorful and unofficial history keeper, Wilkins found herself curious about the details of her family’s life astride the color line and went in search of details. She found a great-grandfather, John Bird Wilkins, born into slavery, who became a teacher, inventor, radical Baptist minister, and bigamist. On her mother’s side, she traced the family back to a slave from Madagascar. This is more than a history of black firsts; it is also a woman’s long, arduous process of discovering long-buried secrets and how her family of achievers chose whether or how to defy racial and social conventions and how she herself fits into that legacy. A fascinating look at the complexities of race, class, and caste from the perspective of one family’s history. --Vanessa Bush
About the Author
Carolyn Marie Wilkins is a Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She has toured South America as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, performed on radio and television with her group SpiritJazz, and worked as a percussionist for the Pittsburgh and Singapore symphonies. She has released four critically acclaimed CDs of her original compositions and is the author of Tips for Singers: Performing, Auditioning, and Rehearsing.
Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Great Book
By Bonita R Lucas
This a great book for any family to read. A great for students to read during black history month or just to read. Full of history.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A vivid memoir and gripping detective story
By Susan Fleet
Damn Near White is both a vivid memoir and a gripping detective story. Inspired by her great-aunt's tales of mysterious ancestors, professional musician and college professor Carolyn Wilkins takes us on an exciting journey of discovery that unearths the hidden history of the Wilkins family. Expect some eye-openers.
The author's great-grandfather, John Bird Wilkins, was born into slavery circa 1850, possibly the son of a female slave and a white slave-owner. A chameleon-like figure who used various names, he taught school after the Civil War, first in Oxford, Mississippi, then in Memphis, Tennessee. He later became an inventor and a newspaperman. Still later, he became widely known as a charismatic Baptist minister.
He was also a bigamist, fathering several children with two different women.
One was the author's grandfather, J. Ernest Wilkins. After a detailed investigation of the John Bird Wilkins saga, the book focuses on J. Ernest Wilkins, and deservedly so.
During the 1950s, J. Ernest Wilkins rose to national prominence during the Eisenhower administration as the first "Negro" to serve in a high-ranking cabinet position. From 1953 to 1955 he served as Assistant Secretary of Labor. He also served on the first Civil Rights Commission (1957-1958) at a time when racial tensions in the South were high, a time when "Negroes" could legally be denied the right to use a public toilet.
The author's painstaking research involves multiple visits to many libraries--from a tiny library in Farmington, Missouri, to Harvard's Widener Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts--and countless interviews, by phone and in person. Her travels take her far and wide, from St. Louis to Chicago, even to a rural cemetery in Missouri.
Damn Near White is much more than the story of an African-American family's rise from mid-19th century slavery to national prominence during the 1950s and beyond. The racial discrimination and obstacles faced by the men and women of the Wilkins family is not abstract prose, but personalized in the ugly experiences endured by J. Earnest Wilkins while serving his country in the military, as a prominent member of Eisenhower's cabinet, and while traveling the South as a member of a Civil Rights Commission tasked with determining if black voters were being denied the right to vote. As the author puts it: "Light and bright perhaps, but definitely not white."
Liberally sprinkled with fascinating family photographs, this is a book you can't afford to miss.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
This is a must read
By spencer
This poingnant inter-generational story is told with such honesty that the reader is compelled to feel compassion. One cannot help but gain insight as to the the complexity of the competing demands of these family members, including Ms.Wilkins, within each of their own historical contexts. The way Ms.Wilkins weaves her experience with that of her family's history makes for riviting reading. Those families who have an Aunt Marjory know how lucky they are. Ms. Wilkins brings forth the real truth and conflicts about color within the race from the presepctive of lighter African Americans,few have acknowledged. This is a must read for everyone who values African American history and appreciates the sophistical dynamics of African American families. Being a part of the "talented 10th" is as much of a responsibility, with diasspointments, as it has been a benefit. Ms. Wilkins reveals both sides of this truth. This is a wonderful addition to every library that includes African American history.
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