The Blacker the Berry
Books | Fiction / Classics
3.3
Wallace Thurman
"The tragedy of her life was that she was too black," declares the narrator at the start of this powerful novel of intraracial prejudice. Emma Lou Morgan lives in a world of scorn and shame, not because her skin is black, but because it's too black. No one among her family, teachers, and friends has a word of consolation or hope for the despised and rejected girl. With nothing to lose, eighteen-year-old Emma Lou leaves her home in Idaho, seeking love and acceptance on a journey that ultimately leads her to the legendary community of the Harlem Renaissance.A source of controversy upon its 1929 publication, The Blacker the Berry was the first novel to openly address color prejudice among black Americans. Author Wallace Thurman, an active member of the Harlem Renaissance, vividly recaptures the era's mood and spirit. His portrait of a young woman adrift in the city forms an enduringly relevant reflection of the search for racial, sexual, and cultural identity.
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More Details:
Author
Wallace Thurman
Pages
160
Publisher
Courier Corporation
Published Date
2012-03-06
ISBN
0486120120 9780486120126
Ratings
Google: 4
Community ReviewsSee all
"This book is a classic of the Harlem Renaissance that covered the controversial aspects of colorism in the black communities of America. Emma Lou is a dark skinned black woman coming of age in Idaho with a light skinned family that views, and treats her, as a curse on them. She is sent to California for college and hopes to make her way in the world with people like her but she encounters racism from her light skinned peers, and she herself is discriminatory towards her black peers she see's as below herself. When she finds that there is no place for her in either CA of ID she moves across the country to Harlem where she believes she will finally fit in. Her struggle continues in Harlem, light skinned people are prejudiced to her and she is prejudiced to dark skinned people. She is caught in a loop of colorism, internalized trauma and societal expectations until a few people and events help push her to the other side of things. The book had me bouncing between rooting for Emma Lou and cursing her actions but in the end I left feeling like she might just have found her way. The book is full of important lessons and not just on the history of racism and colorism in America. If you want to be accepted as you are then start with accepting all people as they are. If you don't love and respect yourself then you will attract people who don't love and respect you either. It may be difficult but find your path in life so, don't follow the actions of others. Sometimes people's advice may be based on what they were taught or what they believe and it may not be suited for you. In the end colorism and racism sucks and I wish things were different.<br/>"
Nicole Falche
"Just wow! And this still exists."
Karen Walcott
