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The Color Of Water Racism Quotes

945 Words4 Pages

Sam Lyons
Mr. Brady
English 10
Bell 2
8 September 2016
The Power of the Moon Racism is a powerful enemy that has run rampant in the world for hundreds of years. When the Europeans first came to the Americas, they took over the land and enslaved its native people. Europeans did exactly the same thing to African Americans. The Color of Water, a novel by James McBride, deals with a lot of conflict involving racism. At one part in the novel the author states that race is “ignorable”. The author is portraying the fact that the race of a person should not matter. There are many examples from the text where the main characters experience racism and push through the struggle. Ruth McBride-Jordan is one of the main characters throughout the novel and is also the mother of James McBride. Ruth is the perfect example of a person who sees race as being “ignorable”. In one of the chapters, it informs the reader about Ruth’s high school …show more content…

As a young boy, James often attended church with his mother and most of his brothers and sisters. One Sunday, James asked his mother ‘What was the color of the Spirit of God?’ Ruth responded by saying “God is the color of water.” (Page 51) This quote is probably the most significant throughout the entire book. What she was really saying to him is that God’s Spirit does not have a color, therefore he does not show favoritism to a specific race. She later explains to her children that in God’s eyes every one is the same. As children of mixed- race, they were always being targeted for racial prejudice. Ruth’s children saw her determination and were often appalled by her devotion to black people and her rebellion against whites. James McBride stated that at one point he saw “young black militants screaming ‘Black Power!’” He thought, “These people will kill Mommy”. (Pg. 27) Though Ruth believed the same thing, she still never hesitated in showing black love and

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