Linda R. (Chicaroo) reviewed A biography by Bliss Broyard about her father's secret from his immediate family. on 11/18/2008 + 17 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

Shortly before Bliss Broyard's Father died, her Mother told Bliss and her Brother that their Father had a secret that he'd never told them. He was born to a black mother and father and his birth certificate listed him as "colored", which is how blacks were categorized at the time of his birth. On the day that he filled out an application to get his social security card, he decided that he was going to be "white" from then on. In explaining to his wife, he said that he wanted to be a journalist and he didn't want to be listed as a "black" jounalist, just a journalist. So he moved to Greenich Village and began his life as a white journalist. The biography is somewhat an account of Anatole Broyard's life, but it is also the search by Bliss to understand what this news means to her and how it will affect her life from then on. If you like the study of how the decisions and circumstances of one generation affect the next generation you'll enjoy how this story unfolds.

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