The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man By James Weldon Johnson

For years now many individuals within the African Diaspora have struggled with the whole idea of what it means to be black. This issue has been the source of internal conflict for a countless number of individuals for many years; unfortunately, this could be a question many struggles with in the future. Many may ask why individuals struggle to come to terms with these sorts of dilemmas. Sadly this multifaceted question does not have a clear-cut of an answer as we would like. But some contributing factors include, but shouldn't be limited to, the way in which blacks were viewed and diversity within the diaspora, and circumstances in which people are thrust into etc. In The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson as the main
As an African American, growing up during The Reconstruction of the late 1800s, many white Americans looked down upon blacks due to the sole fact that they were perceived by man as, untame,simple-witted beasts. In addition to this, as a child growing up, he learned to associate blackness with negativity and subsequently strove to emulate those who were of the Anglo-Saxon race. Johnson does a marvelous job of illustrating this phenomenon in the scene in which the narrator had been the target of racial slurs by his Caucasian classmates. At this moment, the narrator is distraught and goes and confesses all that had happened to him to his mother. “Tell me, mother, am I a nigger? There were tears in her eyes, and I could tell she was suffering for me.....(she responds) No my darling, you are not a nigger. She went on to say that “ You are as good as anybody; if anyone calls you a nigger don't notice them. The more she talked the less I was reassured...Well, mother, am I white, are you white? She answered Tremblingly “ No I am not white but-you-your father is one of the greatest men in the country- the best blood of the South is in you.” (pg 12) This exchange shows, that the mother is sheltering her son from the fact that he is black and indirectly informing him that white is good and to associate blackness
These differences can be directly attributed to the different eras in which these respective stories took place in. In this instance, Silla is described as a hardworking individual who was able to pull herself up by her bootstraps through sheer grit and determination. Silla is in a much different circumstance than the narrator in The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man. She is is an immigrant from Barbados who lives with her husband, Deighton and their two daughters, Selina and Ina. Marshall depicts Deighton as a very lackadaisical character who does tasks very haphazardly, therefore Silla must be the de facto parents within this particular household. This is one of many ways in which she expresses her identity, she must be the one who supports the family through various jobs. However, one of the most profound scenes throughout the whole novel is also another moment where Silla finds another way to negotiate her racial identity. Deighton receives a plot of land from his sister, and him and his wife debate whether or not to sell the land to improve their lives in The United States or move back to Barbados and live on this plot of land. Some time elapses and the second World War breaks out, which provides Silla with yet another employment opportunity. She soon takes up work in the Military Factory. But she is the only working adult within the household,