In White Like Her, Gail Lukasik, Ph.D. learned that her mother was not who she seemed to be. For many years, her mother had been passing as a Caucasian although she was an African American.
What would you do? Would you choose a life with better options even if you had to stay away from your family?
The mother did not want to discuss the whys or hows of the situation. Lukasik promised to not reveal the secret. After her mother died, Lukasik had the opportunity to go on the Genealogy Roadshow and learn more about her mother’s family.
Even after the show aired, Lukasik and a few other people kept up with the research. They didn’t solve every mystery but they did learn quite a bit.
The author does get to meet cousins from her mother’s side of the family. She does feel conflicted about revealing her mother’s secret but in the end, I think she was glad to have the secrets out in the open.
Has anyone been surprised by their DNA results?
Recommendation:
Proud Boys and other white supremacists will not enjoy this book. You can’t buy good taste though. So keep reading books that will open your mind.
In the foreword by Kenyatta Berry, JD writes “These are the questions that White Like Her raises that will help us as a nation continue the discussion about racial identity. “
If you are interested in genealogy or racial identity, then you will find this book to be especially fascinating. There are also a few videos about the story on YouTube. I will never regret telling everyone to read White Like Her.
Gosh, what a story!
Absolutely! Very interesting.
Being mixed race, I come from a family where I understand that several people, in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, passed as white in order to secure more stable opportunities and futures for themselves. It must be a difficult decision and razor’s edge to walk for some, but completely understandable considering the mindset, conscious or unconscious, that, unfortunately, the US was founded on.
I agree. It must have been extremely difficult and stressful.