Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and Identity

by Lise Funderburg

Overview

The groundbreaking oral history, Black, White, Other, made its mark by being the first book to ask black/white biracial people to speak for themselves on matters of race and identity. In the book, journalist Lise Funderburg presents the lives and views of forty-six adult children of black-white unions. Topics include love and marriage, racism in the workplace, religion, community, and bringing up children in a racially divided world.

First published in 1994, Black, White, Other continues to be a relevant and seminal resource in discussions of race in America. Now available in an expanded 20th anniversary edition, it features updated commentary from Lise Funderburg and a foreword by novelist Mat Johnson.

Black, White, Other is not only for the millions of biracial Americans who have yet to see themselves accurately rendered on the page, but also for everyone interested in the subject of race and the prospects for achieving true pluraism in America. The New York Times lauded the book as "important...an example of how we can talk about race with feeling, humor, and dignity." The Buffalo News wrote that the "pages seethe with a tapestry of life....No book is more likely to force a reader to confront his beliefs about race than this one." And The Indianapolis Star noted that "Funderburg lets her subjects ask-and answer-the controversial, touchy questions that many wonder but few dare to pose."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692262740
Publisher:	Sixth Borough Ink
Publication date:	10/01/2017
Edition description:	20th Anniversary ed.
Pages:	374
Sales rank:	433,790
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

Lise Funderburg's groundbreaking oral history, Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and Identity, was first published in 1994 and has been widely used in the study of race and racial identity. The New York Times praised it for showing us how to talk about race with "feeling, humor, and dignity." Black, White, Other was recently released in a 20th anniversary ebook edition, with a foreword by novelist Mat Johnson. Lise's memoir, Pig Candy: Taking My Father South, Taking My Father Home (Free Press), is a contemplation of life, death, race, and barbecue. Her latest book is Apple, Tree: Writers on Their Parents (University of Nebraska, 2019), a collection of all-new work by 25 writers, which Publishers Weekly deemed a "sparkling anthology" in its starred review. Lise's writing has appeared in many publications and she teaches creative nonfiction writing at The University of Pennsylvania and the Paris Writers' Workshop.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Mat Johnson 9

Introduction 15

PART ONE daily life

CHAPTER 1 Parents and Family 31

CHAPTER 2 Self-Portrait: Sallyann Hobson 65

CHAPTER 3 Neighborhood 81

CHAPTER 4 School 105

CHAPTER 5 Self-Portrait: Michael Tyron Ackley 135

CHAPTER 6 Friends and Strangers 147

CHAPTER 7 Work 165

CHAPTER 8 Love and Romance 187

CHAPTER 9 Other Forces 205

PART TWO beliefs

CHAPTER 10 Religion and Politics 231

CHAPTER 11 Self-Portrait: Zenobia Kujichagulia 267

CHAPTER 12 Prejudice: The Monster Within and Without 283

CHAPTER 13 Are We a Family? 305

CHAPTER 14 The Next Generation 329

Afterword 359

Acknowledgments 361

Index 363

Editorial Reviews

"Black, White, Other is an example of how we can talk about race with feeling, humor, and dignity." - The New York Times

"No book is more likely to force a reader to confront his beliefs about race than this one." - The Buffalo News

"Funderburg lets her subjects ask-and answer-the controversial, touchy questions that many wonder but few dare to pose." - Indianapolis Star

From the Publisher