Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource Life on the color line : the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black, Gregory Howard Williams

Life on the color line : the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black, Gregory Howard Williams

Creator
Author
Summary
  • Gregory Howard Williams and his younger brother, Mike, grew up believing they were white and that their darkskinned father was of Italian descent. Then their parents' marriage disintegrated, their mother departed, and their father's business ventures sank into a sea of liquor. Pursued by debt and personal demons, "Tony" Williams took his two boys to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, where he was known as "Buster," and where there was no escape from the truth he had hidden for so long. The truth was as plain as the color of Buster's family. Gregory and Mike Williams were the sons of a brilliant and charming but troubled black man who fled the burden of race until need drove him back to his roots. Suddenly Gregory and Mike discovered they were black as well, strangers in a segregated world about which they knew nothing, forced to learn the strategies of survival amid the poverty, prejudice, and agonizing absurdities of a time and place where racism flourished
  • In this extraordinary and powerful memoir, Gregory Howard Williams recounts his remarkable journey along the color line and illuminates the contrasts between the black and white worlds: one of privilege, opportunity, and comfort, the other of deprivation, repression, and struggle. He tells the story of his father, a self-destructive man who often neglected his children, yet had faith in his eldest son's ability to succeed in the face of nearly insurmountable obstacles. Of "Miss Dora," a loving family friend who gave Gregory and his brother the food they ate, the clothes on their backs, and the roof over their heads - all on a salary of just twenty-five dollars per week. Of the hostility and prejudice he encountered all too often, from both blacks and whites, and the surprising moments of encouragement and acceptance he found from each
  • Williams tells the story, too, of the divergent paths he and his brother eventually took, one defying the odds and the advice of teachers and counselors to become a lawyer, the other succumbing to the lure of fun, flash, and the quick buck. Life on the Color Line is a uniquely important book. It is a compelling drama of a man straddling two worlds and two heritages, and a wonderfully inspiring testament of purpose, perseverance, and human triumph
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
x, 285 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • The open house cafe
  • The midas touch
  • "Captain of My Soul"
  • Rooster
  • Learning how to be niggers
  • Bob and weave
  • "Saved"
  • Hustling
  • Politics and race
  • The color line
  • Accept the things I cannot change
  • Choices
  • Go for it!
  • Big shoulders
  • Persistence
  • Teammates
  • "Born in the wilderness and suckled by a boar"
  • State of Indiana v. Gregory H. Williams
  • Mike : Like a moth to flames
  • Tottering kingdoms and crumbling empires
  • Your truly mother
Isbn
9780525938507
Instance
Label
Life on the color line : the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black
Title
Life on the color line
Title remainder
the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black
Statement of responsibility
Gregory Howard Williams
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • Gregory Howard Williams and his younger brother, Mike, grew up believing they were white and that their darkskinned father was of Italian descent. Then their parents' marriage disintegrated, their mother departed, and their father's business ventures sank into a sea of liquor. Pursued by debt and personal demons, "Tony" Williams took his two boys to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, where he was known as "Buster," and where there was no escape from the truth he had hidden for so long. The truth was as plain as the color of Buster's family. Gregory and Mike Williams were the sons of a brilliant and charming but troubled black man who fled the burden of race until need drove him back to his roots. Suddenly Gregory and Mike discovered they were black as well, strangers in a segregated world about which they knew nothing, forced to learn the strategies of survival amid the poverty, prejudice, and agonizing absurdities of a time and place where racism flourished
  • In this extraordinary and powerful memoir, Gregory Howard Williams recounts his remarkable journey along the color line and illuminates the contrasts between the black and white worlds: one of privilege, opportunity, and comfort, the other of deprivation, repression, and struggle. He tells the story of his father, a self-destructive man who often neglected his children, yet had faith in his eldest son's ability to succeed in the face of nearly insurmountable obstacles. Of "Miss Dora," a loving family friend who gave Gregory and his brother the food they ate, the clothes on their backs, and the roof over their heads - all on a salary of just twenty-five dollars per week. Of the hostility and prejudice he encountered all too often, from both blacks and whites, and the surprising moments of encouragement and acceptance he found from each
  • Williams tells the story, too, of the divergent paths he and his brother eventually took, one defying the odds and the advice of teachers and counselors to become a lawyer, the other succumbing to the lure of fun, flash, and the quick buck. Life on the Color Line is a uniquely important book. It is a compelling drama of a man straddling two worlds and two heritages, and a wonderfully inspiring testament of purpose, perseverance, and human triumph
Award
  • Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest, 1995.
  • School Library Journal Best Books: Best Adult Books 4 Teens, 1995.
Biography type
autobiography
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
154380
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Williams, Gregory Howard
Dewey number
  • 305.896/073/092
  • B
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • portraits
  • plates
Index
no index present
LC call number
KF373.W474
LC item number
A3 1995
Literary form
non fiction
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Williams, Gregory Howard
  • Williams, Gregory Howard
  • African American lawyers
  • African Americans
  • Muncie (Ind.)
  • African Americans
  • African American lawyers
  • African Americans
  • Social conditions
  • Indiana
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/titleRemainder
the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black
Label
Life on the color line : the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black, Gregory Howard Williams
Instantiates
Publication
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The open house cafe -- The midas touch -- "Captain of My Soul" -- Rooster -- Learning how to be niggers -- Bob and weave -- "Saved" -- Hustling -- Politics and race -- The color line -- Accept the things I cannot change -- Choices -- Go for it! -- Big shoulders -- Persistence -- Teammates -- "Born in the wilderness and suckled by a boar" -- State of Indiana v. Gregory H. Williams -- Mike : Like a moth to flames -- Tottering kingdoms and crumbling empires -- Your truly mother
Control code
ocm31607032
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
x, 285 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780525938507
Lccn
94029894
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, portraits
System control number
(OCoLC)31607032
Label
Life on the color line : the true story of a white boy who discovered he was black, Gregory Howard Williams
Publication
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The open house cafe -- The midas touch -- "Captain of My Soul" -- Rooster -- Learning how to be niggers -- Bob and weave -- "Saved" -- Hustling -- Politics and race -- The color line -- Accept the things I cannot change -- Choices -- Go for it! -- Big shoulders -- Persistence -- Teammates -- "Born in the wilderness and suckled by a boar" -- State of Indiana v. Gregory H. Williams -- Mike : Like a moth to flames -- Tottering kingdoms and crumbling empires -- Your truly mother
Control code
ocm31607032
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
x, 285 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9780525938507
Lccn
94029894
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, portraits
System control number
(OCoLC)31607032

Subject

Genre

Included in

Library Locations

    • Lyons Public LibraryBorrow it
      279 8th Street, Lyons, OR, 97358, US
      44.775286 -122.612965

Library Links

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service (CCRLS). Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.
Processing Feedback ...