Author Wallace Thurman takes on interracial prejudice in his

1929 novel, “The Blacker The Berry.” The main character is Emma Lou

Morgan, a color conscious blue-black girl, who tries to find

herself in a world where black is damned and light is right.

Author Wallace Thurman takes on interracial prejudice in his 1929 novel, “The Blacker The Berry.” The main character is Emma Lou Morgan, a color conscious blue-black girl, who tries to find herself in a world where black is damned and light is right.

Thurman is unafraid to expose the idea that there is no place in this world for “tar babies,” “kinky-head pickaninnies,” or “blue-gummed, pink-lipped coal haulers.” According to Emma Lou’s mother, “a black boy could get along, but a black girl would never know anything but sorrow and disappointment.”

Thurman’s satirical approach was refreshing. He mocked allblacks for conforming to white supremacy. A bright light is shone on those who are preoccupied with being accepted by white society. Thurman also does a great job of presenting many views from the black characters on the subject.

The skin color battle is deeper than random self-hatred. Thurman delves into job placement, education, relationships and politics, which are all issues affected by the color and tone of an individuals flesh in the novel.

The light skinned or “blue veins” of society married light so that their children would get whiter and whiter with each generation. The brown skinned characters did everything to make sure they did not appear darker. The damned black characters invested in powders and lye to lighten their wretched skin.

For the majority of the novel a relatable Emma Lou is of college age. She transitions from one setting to another with the energy of her youth and with just enough naivety to make necessary mistakes.

This novel is a must read because interracial prejudice views still exist in 2011. Out-of-date sayings such as ‘you’re pretty for a dark skinned girl’ are still being murmured on HBCU campuses as compliments, in the 21st century.

Thurman opens your grandmother’s kitchen window and eavesdrops on the color heavy criticism of the ole black woman in church and her nappy, screaming black babies.

Thurman could have done more with descriptive language to further his points but the uncensored sensitive topic holds enough weight to elicit national Twitter rants. The old African American folk saying, ‘the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice’ is relentlessly put to trial in the court of black opinion.

“The Blacker The Berry,” a novel described as a “lost classic,” is a page-turner about truth, beauty, and blackness along with finding a place for it all in American society.

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• Courtney Jackson, Business Manager