Summary of Julie Lythcott-Haims's Real American

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 As a child growing up in the seventies and early eighties in New York, Wisconsin, and Northern Virginia, I was often the target of curiosity from white children and adults. They wanted to make sense of me, so they asked where I was from.
#2 I am the Wooly-Haired, Medium-Brown-skinned offspring typical when Blacks and whites have sex. I come from people who broke the rules, chose to live lives outside the box, and chose hope over hate as the arc of history was forced to bend a bit more toward justice.
#3 The Real American is a persona that emerged during the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election. He is a representation of a past era when white men could claim what was rightfully theirs with an air of ownership.
#4 I am the descendant of slaves who worked on a plantation in Charleston, South Carolina, in the late 1700s. I am the untallied, unpaid, and unrepented damages of one of America’s founding crimes.

Sujets

• Black
• Autobiography
• Regional
• African American
• Biography
• Cultural
• Ethnic

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 17 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798822514287
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Julie Lythcott-Haims's Real American
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

As a child growing up in the seventies and early eighties in New York, Wisconsin, and Northern Virginia, I was often the target of curiosity from white children and adults. They wanted to make sense of me, so they asked where I was from.

#2

I am the Wooly-Haired, Medium-Brown-skinned offspring typical when Blacks and whites have sex. I come from people who broke the rules, chose to live lives outside the box, and chose hope over hate as the arc of history was forced to bend a bit more toward justice.

#3

The Real American is a persona that emerged during the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election. He is a representation of a past era when white men could claim what was rightfully theirs with an air of ownership.

#4

I am the descendant of slaves who worked on a plantation in Charleston, South Carolina, in the late 1700s. I am the untallied, unpaid, and unrepented damages of one of America’s founding crimes.

#5

I am so American it hurts. I am a product of America’s angry war with herself, and I am still not treated as if I am as worthy as everyone else.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

I was born in Manhattan, but my parents bought a house in Palisades, New York, when I was five. I played in the creek with my friend Conrad, a little white boy whose name I mispronounced as Comrade. I memorized my first phone numbers, address, and zip code there.

#2

I was seven when my father moved us to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1975. I was in third grade, and I remember being impressed by America and proud to be American.

#3

I adored my father, who was fifty when I was born. He was a powerful, commanding, and gruff figure who loved me immensely. He was the sun.

#4

I was on track to live the American Dream – through hard work, big dreams, and a bit of luck. I was elected vice president of my class for the third year in a row, and in the fall of my senior year, the student council elected me president of that governing body.
Insights from Chapter 3

#1

I adored the Fourth of July as a child, but my father did not. He did not like the parades, songs, and flags, the neighborhood barbecues, or the smart looks on everyone’s faces that revealed their innate understanding that our country was better than the rest of the world.

#2

I noticed that some strangers stared at my father, six foot two and lean, with a neat, tightly coiled Afro, as if they could brand him like an animal with their searing focus if he dared to look them in the eye.

#3

I was learning that something might be wrong with me. I began kindergarten as a four-year-old who would turn five in November. And that year, or maybe it was first grade, I began coming home with my classmates’ questions: What are you. and She’s your mother.

#4

My mother, who was Black, instilled in me a love of Black culture. She would constantly read me books about Black authors and intellectuals, and I would wonder why I had to read those books if my white friends didn’t have to.

#5

I had an Afro of loose brown curls until I was about eight when I decided to grow my hair long enough so that it could be pulled back, reined in, and tamped down. In fourth grade in Madison, Wisconsin, I’d sit before the large mirror in my bedroom day after day, and my mother would stand behind me holding a brush like a wizard brandishing a new wand.

#6

My mother took me to see a Black woman hairdresser when I was 11 years old. The hairdresser cut my hair very short, and I was embarrassed. I felt as if I’d been assaulted.

#7

I was put in the gifted group in fifth grade, and my teacher announced to the class that all it took to be gifted was for your parent to meet with the principal. But in private, I muttered a silent fuck you.

#8

When I was in seventh grade, my friend LaVerne convinced me and another girl to do a dance in the Jack and Jill talent show. We practiced over back-to-back weekends, but when we went on stage, I forgot the steps and stood there staring at LaVerne.