Monday, March 23, 2015

LITTLE WHITE LIE

Compelling Frontline documentary [whoops, Independent Lens doc I should have written, not Frontline] worth watching, LITTLE WHITE LIE tells the story of a Jewish girl who grew up being told her Sicilian paternal grandfather was the reason her skin was darker than anyone else in the family.

I've known a lot of so-called mixed race people, including women who were raised by "white" mothers but had "black" fathers, usually not around. And several of them had Jewish mothers so were raised Jewish.

But Lacey Schwartz was raised to believe she was the offspring of her two "white" Jewish parents and whenever questions came up about her being darker, the explanation was the infamous Sicilian grandfather.

In this documentary film made by Schwartz she confronts the denial of her family and her past to explore the ramifications of being told and believing and living like you're "white" and then discovering only in college her "black" identity.

The film is personal and particular to one person's experience and exploration of the racial social construct but raises questions relevant, or that should be relevant, to all, at least in this race conscious society. Pretty fascinating.

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