Pearl's Secret: A Black Man's Search for His White Family

by Neil Henry

Pearl's Secret is a remarkable autobiography and family story that combines elements of history, investigative reporting, and personal narrative in a riveting, true-to-life mystery. In it, Neil Henry―a black professor of journalism and former award-winning correspondent for the Washington Post ―sets out to piece together the murky details of his family's past. His search for the white branch of his family becomes a deeply personal odyssey, one in which Henry deploys all of his journalistic skills to uncover the paper trail that leads to blood relations who have lived for more than a century on the opposite side of the color line. At the same time Henry gives a powerful and vivid account of his black family's rise to success over the twentieth century. Throughout the course of this gripping story the author reflects on the part that racism and racial ignorance have played in his daily life―from his boyhood in largely white Seattle to his current role as a parent and educator in California.

The contemporary debate over the significance of Thomas Jefferson's longtime romantic relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings, and recent DNA evidence that points to his role as the father of black descendants, have revealed the importance and volatility of the issue of dual-race legacies in American society. As Henry uncovers the dramatic history of his great-great-grandfather―a white English immigrant who fought as a Confederate officer in the Civil War, found success during Reconstruction as a Louisiana plantation owner, and enjoyed a long love affair with Henry's great-great-grandmother, a freed black slave―he grapples with an unsettling ambivalence about what he is trying to do. His straightforward, honest voice conveys both the pain and the exhilaration that his revelations bring him about himself, his family, and our society. In the book's stunning climax, the author finally meets his white kin, hears their own remarkable story of survival in America, and discovers a great deal about both the sting of racial prejudice as it is woven into the fabric of the nation, and his own proud identity as a teacher, father, and black American.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Race

321 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really would get 3 1/2 stars, but that isn't an option on goodreads. It had some interesting moments and profound thoughts, but I found the title misleading - the author spent more time talking about his black family than the search for his white one. I also had difficulty with the author's take sometimes on white peoples' perspective - he had a tendency to group white people together at times as all being racist and prejudice, and the feelings he claimed white people have are ones I do not. But he did have a lot of insight into white and black relations in America and the geneology search was interesting.

[Chloe Nave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good inspiring book for people interested in family history and genealogy.

[Gail Gauthier · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Henry describes his childhood in Seattle as the youngest son of a surgeon and a librarian as being Leave it to Beaverish. It was an idyllic suburban life interrupted by episodes of racism. He's invited by a couple of little white girls in his neighborhood to come over and play only to be chased down the street by their grandfather when he goes to the door. Not at all surprised he remembered that years later. In his family there is talk of the value of having light skin and good hair while at the same time feeling great respect for their Black history and culture. Believe me, no one was talking about French Canadian achievements and listening to French Canadian music when I was growing up. My mother's side of the family didn't know they had any kind of achievements or music, which I suppose can easily happen when your name is Adams."


Excerpt from Original Content.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were two interrelated themes in this book, where a Black man goes in search of the descendants of his white ancestor. The first theme, which I loved, was the search for these descendents. The second, which I found disquieting and uncomfortable with, was essentially a memoir of his experiences growing up Black in a white neighbourhood and the resentments and anger arising from that. We are all individuals, all unique, and how we deal with that life has given us is up to us. But it is not how I would have responded, and the way he did respond spoiled the rest of the story for me.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born in 1954, raised in Seattle, Neil Henry was caught between two worlds. Connections to his mother's family in St. Louis include family lore about the great-great-grandmother, an educated woman, whose only daughter was fathered by a well-to-do British immigrant who was married to a white woman. Neil's quest to learn the truth about his family consumed several years while he was teaching at Berkeley, and made interesting reading.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A richly told tale of one man's search for a complete reckoning of his family genealogy, and the complex contours of race in America. Quite an emotional journey.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first read about this book in People magazine. It sounded like just the story I like to read and one that I wanted to know the whole story on. Initially I really enjoyed reading it but somewhere near the middle it really bogged down-I wanted more than what I was getting...the whole way through I kept wondering what Pearl's secret was going to be.....but by the end I'm still not sure that I got it....

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how this book dealt with race in america, growing up black in a white world, mixed race, and the legacy of slavery. Maybe it is because I grew up in the south, but the story of him finding and meeting his white family really resonated with me. I also really enjoyed witnessing how he found them, although others have found the geneology part a bit tedious.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neil Henry is a former Washington Post writer who now teaches English at U.Cal. Berkley. He is black, and he became interested in doing a genealogical search for his white relatives; his great-grandmother was white. I’ve read other books with similar themes, but somehow each one is new, with different people and circumstances, and any search for ancestors is exciting!

[Meepspeeps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book, part memoir, part commentary on race relations in America. He brings up so many questions that I think are rarely discussed between the races, yet we'd all be enriched with greater understanding and care for each other if we did take the time to discuss them together. I highly recommend this book.

[Lynn Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting memoir, a mystery of sorts. I read it kind of piecemeal because of the other books I was reading. I wish now that I had given it the attention it deserves. I will definitely read it again some day. Neil Henry is a superb writer and reading this book has re-sparked (?) my interest in genealogy and my own family history.

[Virginia Birks · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the bi-racial author's search for his white family, he gives a thought-provoking assessment of racism in America. Mixed in with all the negatives of racism is the realization that it forced his family and him to excel in spite of its attempt to hold them back.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little slow right at first, but then I really got into it. I look forward to discussing it at our next book club meeting.

[Bj]

Sometimes thing work out

[thistle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuanced.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It has a great mixture of the search for his family and his family's experiences as well.

Very thoughtful and thought provoking.