A powerful account of growing up Black during the era of the civil rights movement from historian and minister Mark Morrison-Reed. In these pages he wrestles with racism, the death of Martin Luther King, Black radicalism, and his experience in an interracial family. Mark Morrison-Reed was caught in a tortuous shift in America. Born on the South Side of Chicago during the 1950s in a twilight zone between the races, he was raised on the cusp of what was to come. A Black hippie, he tried to reconcile the “make love not war” ethos of the white counter-culture with the demands of awakening Black power consciousness. Morrison-Reed, himself of mixed-race ancestry, went on to marry an Anglo-Canadian and raise two multiracial children. He served as minister to predominantly white Unitarian Universalist congregations. In Memoir of an Integration Baby gives voice to the unspoken story of those African Americans who were among the first to bring racial diversity to their neighborhood, school, church or workplace, to the increasing number of partners in interracial relationships and those blessed with and yet struggling to raise multiracial children in a polarized world.
If you are not Afro-American, you need to read this memoir. If you are open to this book, it will give you some insight into the stress of growing up as a black boy and living as a black man in America. Even education and financial security do not protect black men from the stereotypes of the well-intentioned or the hatred of the prejudiced.
If you are Afro-American, you won't find surprises. You may find reasons to say "amen".
I enjoyed this because Morrison-Reed has a unique perspective on Unitarian Universalism over the past 50 years, and because he is so candid and reflective about the fragmented nature of his environment. It is uneven, some parts fluid and moving, and other parts a bit stiff and seemingly written for other venues.
I only see one edition here, but mine is actually not this one. This is written by a friend of mine who went to (and describes) the school I went to and where I now work. So this is kind of a must read for me. Mark has given a few readings of it here when he's come by to visit the school, so I have actually heard large chunks of it. Reading it to myself I hear his voice - if you do get a chance to attend one of his readings, do, because they are very moving. There were parts where I perceived things differently than Mark did - for example, his comment about a woman crossing the street away from him because he's a black man - I would say the fact that he's a man would suffice... my experience is that more and more women would be wary of finding themselves alone on a deserted street with any man, regardless of skin color. I look forward to discussing this with Mark next time I see him.
Story of a childhood and young adulthood beset by fear and pain caused by family dynamics which were partially shaped by race and caused by race itself. The story of an African-American man trying to live in a world with people of many backgrounds and races was eye-opening and hard to read. I've heard Dr. Rev. Morrison-Reed speak at my church and he was very open and empathetic. I'm just sad to know what it took for him to be such a man.
I enjoyed this book. As I know Mark from a long time ago, and some of the people he depicts, the story was more compelling. I admire his honesty and self-refection in looking back over his unusual childhood and early adulthood. I also learned some new aspects of how racism works in our society.