Surviving the White Gaze

Adult memoir 

     "My ballet teacher was black.  The first black person I had ever seen in real life.  Was she real?  Did she know Easy Rider from The Electric Company?"

     Rebecca Carroll, author of Surviving the White Gaze, was a biracial adopted child growing up in a Wonder Bread white small New England town.  She didn't meet anyone who looked like her until she started ballet school.  There were intimations of racism in the larger community.  And she was never connected with her racial heritage.

     Carroll had been told that when she was old enough she'd meet her birth mother.  But doing so became a source of pain and confusion rather than healing.  Tess was volatile and unpredictable.  When Carroll began to explore her Black identity Tess would gaslight her, telling her that she was really white and a pretender to Blackness.

     In Surviving the White Gaze Carroll takes readers on her journey of self discovery from early childhood through adulthood.  It's a journey well worth making.

On a purrrsonal note, I very much appreciate the bus drivers who take me places I need to go, especially to school.  I wanted to think of a way I can show my gratitude on a regular basis.  Last week I started carrying wrapped candies in my coat pocket and giving one to the driver every time I get on a bus.  They seem to really like that.  (Jules)

Human treats.  Of course they do.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the bus drivers.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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