Notes of a White Black Woman: Race, Color, Community

By Judy Scales-Trent

Book Overview

While the "one-drop rule" in the United States dictates that people with any African ancestry are black, many black Americans have white skin. Notes of a White Black Woman is one woman's attempt to describe what it is like to be a "white" black woman and to live simultaneously inside and outside of both white and black communities. Law professor Judy Scales-Trent begins by describing how our racial purity laws have operated over the past four hundred years. Then, in a series of autobiographical essays, she addresses how race and color interact in relationships between men and women, within families, and in the larger community. Scales-Trent ultimately explores the question of what we really mean by "race" in this country, once it is clear that race is not a tangible reality as reflected through color. Scales-Trent uses autobiography both as a way to describe these issues and to develop a theory of the social construction of race. She explores how race and color intertwine through black and white families and across generations; how members of both black and white communities work to control group membership; and what happens to relations between black men and women when the layer of color is placed over the already difficult layer of race. She addresses how one can tell--and whether one can tell--who, indeed, is "black" or "white." Scales-Trent also celebrates the richness of her bicultural heritage and shows how she has revised her teaching methods to provide her law students with a multicultural education.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 027101430X
• ISBN13: 9780271014302
• Release Date: February 1995
• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Another White Black Woman

I too am a White Black woman and this book captures the complexities of our life experiences. The author is candid and honest and demonstrates the reality of living in two, same yet very different worlds. For those who ever wondered, get the book.

I really enjoyed this book.

As a biracial teenager I was delighted to read a book that addresses the issue of race identity. Judy Scales-Trent makes some excellent points regarding race divisions in today's society. Not only does Ms. Scales-Trent present her information in such a way that anyone can identify with, but all the information in this book has been researched and is quite valid. I learned about things, such as the racial purity law, that I never new existed. It really made me think about what my race means and how it shapes who I am. This is a great book for both teenagers and adults, biracial or not.