The Blacker the Berry
Encyclopedia
The Blacker the Berry is a 1929 novel by Harlem Renaissance
author Wallace Thurman
. The novel tells the story of Emma Lou Morgan, a dark-skinned African-American woman, beginning in Boise, Idaho and ending in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance
. Throughout the novel, Emma Lou encounters discrimination by lighter-skinned African-Americans and she must come to terms with her skin color if she is ever to be satisfied with her life.
Emma Lou is plagued by the color of her skin. She was born with skin that is too black. Her mother was a fairer-skinned African-American, as was the majority of her mother’s family, but her father, who left her mother soon after Emma Lou was born, was a dark-skinned black man. Her family constantly regrets the color of her skin. She and her family tried to lighten her skin with creams and bleaching, but to no avail. Emma Lou wishes that she had been a boy. Her mother has always told her "that a black boy could get along, but that a black girl would never know anything but sorrow and disappointment."[1]
Thoughts of her skin and family consume Emma Lou, even at her high school graduation. She is the only "Negro pupil in the entire school,"[1] and this fact is made even more obvious by the white graduation robes the graduates wear, to the dismay of Emma Lou. The only thing Emma Lou can concern herself with is the color of her skin. Her graduation ceremony takes a back seat to thoughts about her skin.
The summer after Emma Lou’s high school graduation was coming to a close. Emma Lou had still not decided what she would do next, as it did not seem to matter much. She is a dark skinned girl, and therefore, she thought, she would never amount to anything. Her Uncle Joe suggested that she go to college at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she would find other Negroes with whom she could associate. She would earn a bachelor’s degree in education and then move to the south to teach. Uncle Joe believed that smaller towns, such as Boise, "encouraged stupid color prejudice such as she encountered among the blue vein circle in her home town." Emma Lou’s maternal grandmother was closely associated with the blue veins in Boise, a group of people who only accepted fair-skinned individuals. This group, including Emma Lou’s grandmother, looked down upon Emma Lou because her skin was so dark. Uncle Joe thought that Emma Lou would find happiness in Los Angeles, for the people of Los Angeles did not have time to dwell on one’s skin color.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Emma Lou began her search for other Negro students, determined to find the right crowd. At the Bursar’s office on registration day, Emma Lou found herself in line behind another black first-year girl and was immediately excited. But this excitement left Emma Lou as soon as the young woman opened her mouth. Hazel Mason was the wrong kind of Negro. She was the exact type of person that Emma Lou tried so desperately to distinguish herself from. And to Emma Lou’s dismay, Hazel seemed to be the only Negro student willing to be friends with her. The other Negro students were pleasant enough when introducing themselves, but they did not invite Emma Lou into their circle, and they most certainly did not invite her to join their sorority. After Hazel stopped attending classes, a young woman named Grace Giles became Emma Lou’s only true companion in Los Angeles. Grace, who was also left out of the sorority, enlightened Emma Lou about the women asked to join. Emma Lou would never be asked because she was too dark and not wealthy enough.
Emma Lou returned to Boise for the summer noticing even more the color of her skin and the limitations it created. She realized that all black leaders were either light-skinned or had light-skinned wives. Contrary to Uncle Joe’s belief, the people in Los Angeles proved to be the same as the people in Boise when it came to the color of someone’s skin.
At a picnic during the summer, Emma Lou found herself in the company of a young man named Weldon Taylor. His skin was a darker than Emma Lou’s ideal, but she did not let this stop her from getting close to him. By the end of the night, the two had kissed and Emma Lou was in love. Over the next two weeks, Emma Lou changed. She was no longer the anti-social being, living up to her family’s ideas of her as a misfit. She spent her nights with Weldon, thrilled by "his presence and his love making."[1] But the truth was that Weldon would never marry Emma Lou. He traveled from town to town, finding work and a new girl with each move. And he was leaving Boise to become a Pullman porter. However, Emma Lou believed that the only reason he was leaving, the reason he would never marry her, was because she was too dark. No matter the circumstance, Emma Lou would always believe that her dark skin brought about the pitfalls in her life. In the fall, Emma Lou returned to school in Los Angeles for two more years, but was desperate to make her escape, and finally did.
Part 2 Harlem
Emma Lou had been in Harlem for five weeks. Yet she lamented the two nights she had spent with a young man, John, for he was too dark. Emma Lou quit her job as an actress’s maid to pursue a job that would prove to the people of Boise and Los Angeles that she was not crazy for moving to Harlem. She would go to the employment office and get a job as a stenographer.
Emma Lou had no luck at the first employment agency that she visited. After lying about her skills at the second employment agency, Emma Lou was on her way to get a job in a real estate office. However, she did not get the job, for the office had somebody else in mind, or so they said as soon as Emma Lou entered the office. She returned to the employment agency to again talk to Mrs. Blake, the woman running the office. Mrs. Blake invited Emma Lou to lunch, and Emma Lou accepted, "warmed toward any suggestion of friendliness"[1] and excited to have the chance "to make a welcome contact."[1]
At lunch, Emma Lou spoke proudly of her life in Boise, but when it came to discussing her college days, she became much more reserved. Emma Lou did her best to change the subject, eventually forcing Mrs. Blake to give up her inquiries about college. She then began to talk about employment, revealing an almost brutal truth to Emma Lou: business men had certain ideas of what the women they hired should be, and they would not hire anybody else. She suggested that Emma Lou go to Teacher’s College and get a job in the public school system. Emma Lou left the lunch unsure of what to do. She did not want to return home to her smelly building, but much of the day remained. She walked along Seventh Avenue, one of her favorite places to walk, and began to think of John. She paused outside a window, using her reflection to try to rid herself of the shine on her nose. When a few young men walked by, they were talking about her. Before walking away, laughing, one man said, "There’s a girl for you ‘Fats.’" Fats replied "Man, you know I don’t haul no coal."[1]
Part 3 Alva
Emma Lou’s mother wanted her to return to Boise. But, Emma Lou had no interest in returning home. She had found a job in New York as a maid to Arline Strange, an actress "in an alleged melodrama about Negro life in Harlem." To Emma Lou, the characters in the show were all caricatures. After the show one night, Emma Lou went with Arline and Arline’s brother from Chicago to Small’s Paradise, a cabaret. Arline was shocked to hear that Emma Lou had never been to a cabaret. "Why I thought all colored people went,"[1] she said to Emma Lou. At Small’s, Emma Lou had her first drink, a highball made with the contents of Arline’s brother’s hip flask. Emma Lou was entranced by the dancers at the cabaret. As Arline and her brother danced with one another, Emma Lou noticed a table of three colored men. They were looking at her and talking. As Emma Lou returned her attention to the dancers, one of the young men approached her and asked her to dance. They danced until the lights came on, and the young man returned to his table. The next morning, Alva, the young man who danced with Emma Lou, and his roommate Braxton talked about the night. They agreed that it was good that Alva danced with Emma Lou, because no one else would have due to her dark complexion.
After asking the stage director if she had a chance at joining the chorus, Emma Lou began to notice the gap between her and the actresses in the cabaret. He pointed out that the chorus girls all had similar complexions, complexions much lighter than Emma Lou’s. She became more and more lonesome and finally decided to look for a new room to live in, hoping that that would help her meet the right sort of people. She had little luck and, once again, blamed her suffering on her blackness. Her mother was right, she thought, "Black boys can make a go of it, but black girls…"[1]
Growing tired of John, Emma Lou decided to go to the Renaissance Casino, hoping to run into Jasper Crane, a man she met at a movie theater, who had asked her if she ever went to the casino. Jasper did not seem to be at the casino that night, but Emma Lou saw another familiar face, Alva, the man she had danced with at the cabaret. Another man asked Emma Lou to dance, and she used this as an opportunity to get closer to Alva. After a while, Emma Lou approached Alva to see if he remembered her. He appeared to, but Braxton was the one who actually remembered her. Alva kept up the appearance of having remembered her, talking and dancing with Emma Lou and giving her his phone number. She called him the next day, but the phone conversation was a disappointment. Emma Lou had no chance to make future plans with Alva, and she cried herself to sleep that night. Calling Alva again, Emma Lou made plans to meet him at the theater after Arline’s show. Braxton was not happy with the pair: she was too dark. Alva thought differently: "She’s just as good as the rest, and you know what they say, ‘The Blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.’"[1]
Part 4 Rent Party
Alva never took Emma Lou to parties or dances. He didn’t want to introduce her to his friends because he didn’t want to be ridiculed for being with somebody as dark as her. But, because Emma Lou was so color-conscious, he knew he had to take her to meet some of his friends at some point, or she would think he was embarrassed by her color. So he decided to take her to a party, with only some of his friends. He always took Geraldine, the young woman Alva was with at the casino, to parties and dances. Geraldine was also the one woman who Alva associated with because he actually liked her, not just for monetary reasons.
Emma Lou was very excited, though nervous, for the party. She worried that Alva’s friends would be like the people she knew in Boise, those who thought only of her skin. She convinced herself that Alva liked her enough to not put her in a group of people who did not want her there. After entering the room, she was introduced to everyone, including a white man. After introductions, the conversation resumed, and Emma Lou remained quiet. The conversation revolved around race: the differences between being a mulatto and a Negro, and individuals who are prejudiced or "color struck."[1] Emma Lou did not know whether she should be upset. Should she be angry, or sad. Finally, the group left for the house-rent party.
Emma Lou had consumed enough alcohol to warrant a visit from her land lady the next morning. The land lady kicked Emma Lou out of her room for not living up to the standards of the respectable land lady and her respectable house. Emma Lou began to think about Alva. He was more loving and kind than any other person in her life. But he was manipulative. He was in control of every situation and had somehow managed to get Emma Lou to give him money, though Emma Lou did not know how. Emma Lou suggested that they get married, but he turned down the idea. After two marriages, he believed the wedding ceremony to be a waste of time.
Alva began to lose patience with Braxton. He did not pay his share of the rent as he had no job. So Alva found him a girl, Anise Hamilton. But Anise left him as soon as he brought another girl to a dance, using Anise’s money. Alva was furious with Braxton, and Braxton moved.
Alva continued to deny Emma Lou’s requests and suggestions that they live together. Alva took Emma Lou to the midnight show at the Lafayette theater—quite the social scene "among certain classes of Harlem folk"[1] on a Friday night. But the show included jokes about skin color, something Emma Lou had become so sensitive to. Any mention of skin color made Emma Lou feel attacked. She told Alva, "You’re always taking me some place, or placing me in some position where I’ll be insulted."[1] Emma Lou wanted to fight with Alva, had wanted to for a while. This gave Alva the opportunity to point out just how color-conscious Emma Lou is.
One night, after the brawl with Emma Lou, Alva returned to his room to find Geraldine sleeping in his bed. She was pregnant with his child.
Part 5 Pyrrhic Victory
Two years later, Emma Lou was working as a personal maid for Clere Sloane, a retired stage beauty. Emma Lou liked her new job, for she was more "a companion than a servant."[1] Clere’s husband, Campbell Kitchen, was a white writer who was very interested in Harlem.
Alva’s words had stuck with Emma Lou. She wondered if she was too color-conscious. She was not comfortable around many people and felt out of place. She had few friends and constantly resented her skin color.
The relationship between Alva and Emma Lou had ended, but she still loved him. She decided to see him once more. However, Geraldine answered Emma Lou’s knock on his door, and Emma Lou left without speaking to him.
Alva was content to be with Geraldine. But they had not yet figured out how they would raise their child, who was born disfigured. Geraldine and Alva both wanted to kill their child, as he brought nothing but trouble upon their family. Alva drank more than ever, and they needed money. They began to fear each other, fear that one would run away in the night, leaving the other with the baby. As Alva drank, Geraldine worked and saved her money in hopes that she would be able to run away first. The alcohol finally took its toll on Alva, rendering him unable to eat.
Living in the Y.W.C.A., Emma Lou finally found herself in a different world, a world filled with the right sort of people. She was busy taking teaching classes, had made a friend, Gwendolyn Johnson, and had less time than ever to think about and pity herself. Gwendolyn tried to make Emma Lou forget about the color of her skin. But Gwendolyn’s constant effort to make Emma Lou feel good about her dark skin made her feel even worse. Emma Lou had found herself in the company of the right sort of people, but they felt wrong. She continued to work, hoping that Campbell Kitchen’s theory that economic independence would solve her problems would prove true.
Another man found his way into Emma Lou’s life. Benson Brown, a "yaller nigger,"[1] was light enough and attracted to Emma Lou. This was all the reason Emma Lou needed to begin a relationship with Benson.
Alva continued to drink, and Geraldine continued to worry that Alva would die, leaving their child in her care. Before it was too late, Geraldine ran away. The night she left, while Alva’s son was in the care of a neighbor, Emma Lou appeared at his door. Emma Lou left the Y.W.C.A. and moved in with Alva to take care of him and his son, Alva Junior. Six months passed. Emma Lou began teaching at a Harlem public school and had managed to make Alva Junior appear a bit more normal. But Alva Senior began to annoy her once again. Emma Lou felt victimized at the school. She wore a lot of make-up in attempts to disguise her dark skin, but this just brought on ridicule from her colleagues. She had found economic independence, but her troubles still plagued her.
She realized that she had to leave Alva and his son. On her way back to the Y.W.C.A., Emma Lou called Benson. He and Gwendolyn had wanted to contact her but could not find her. They wanted to invite her to their wedding. Emma Lou was stunned. Gwendolyn always talked down "yaller niggers"[1] but had now married the very "yaller nigger" that Emma Lou had once dated.
Emma Lou spent her life running. She ran away from Boise to get away from the color prejudice. Then she left Los Angeles for similar reasons. But she decided she was not going to run away again. She realized there were many others like her. She had to accept herself, all of herself, exactly as she was. [1]
Uncle Joe: the only member of Emma Lou's family with whom she has a close bond. He suggest that she go to Los Angeles for college.
Hazel Mason: The first African-American Emma Lou meets in college. Hazel is the "wrong" kind of African-American and Emma tries to limit her association with Hazel.
Alva: one of Emma Lou’s love interests. Alva is a lighter-skinned African-American living in Harlem. He manipulates women, using their money to get by. Alva is an alcoholic. He is left responsible for his son, first by Geraldine, the mother, and then by Emma Lou.
Braxton: Alva’s roommate. Braxton does not approve of Emma Lou’s dark complexion.
Geraldine: one of Alva’s female companions and the mother to his son. Geraldine leaves Alva and their son.
John: Emma Lou’s first love interest in Harlem. When Emma Lou is unhappy, she tends to think about and desire John.
Arline Strange: an actress. Emma Lou was Arline’s maid and in charge of helping with her make-up and costumes.
Gwedolyn Johnson: Emma Lou’s friend from the Y.W.C.A. Gwendolyn tries to lift Emma Lou’s spirits about her complexion, but actually makes matters worse by constantly pointing out skin color. Gwendolyn marries Benson Brown.
Benson Brown: Emma Lou’s love interest after she moves to the Y.W.C.A. He is lighter-skinned and the "right" sort of African-American man. Benson Marries Gwendolyn. [1]
Wallace Thurman
African-American Literature
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
author Wallace Thurman
Wallace Thurman
Wallace Henry Thurman was an American novelist during the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his novel The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, which explores discrimination among black people based on skin color.-Early life:...
. The novel tells the story of Emma Lou Morgan, a dark-skinned African-American woman, beginning in Boise, Idaho and ending in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
. Throughout the novel, Emma Lou encounters discrimination by lighter-skinned African-Americans and she must come to terms with her skin color if she is ever to be satisfied with her life.
Plot summary
Part 1 Emma LouEmma Lou is plagued by the color of her skin. She was born with skin that is too black. Her mother was a fairer-skinned African-American, as was the majority of her mother’s family, but her father, who left her mother soon after Emma Lou was born, was a dark-skinned black man. Her family constantly regrets the color of her skin. She and her family tried to lighten her skin with creams and bleaching, but to no avail. Emma Lou wishes that she had been a boy. Her mother has always told her "that a black boy could get along, but that a black girl would never know anything but sorrow and disappointment."[1]
Thoughts of her skin and family consume Emma Lou, even at her high school graduation. She is the only "Negro pupil in the entire school,"[1] and this fact is made even more obvious by the white graduation robes the graduates wear, to the dismay of Emma Lou. The only thing Emma Lou can concern herself with is the color of her skin. Her graduation ceremony takes a back seat to thoughts about her skin.
The summer after Emma Lou’s high school graduation was coming to a close. Emma Lou had still not decided what she would do next, as it did not seem to matter much. She is a dark skinned girl, and therefore, she thought, she would never amount to anything. Her Uncle Joe suggested that she go to college at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she would find other Negroes with whom she could associate. She would earn a bachelor’s degree in education and then move to the south to teach. Uncle Joe believed that smaller towns, such as Boise, "encouraged stupid color prejudice such as she encountered among the blue vein circle in her home town." Emma Lou’s maternal grandmother was closely associated with the blue veins in Boise, a group of people who only accepted fair-skinned individuals. This group, including Emma Lou’s grandmother, looked down upon Emma Lou because her skin was so dark. Uncle Joe thought that Emma Lou would find happiness in Los Angeles, for the people of Los Angeles did not have time to dwell on one’s skin color.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Emma Lou began her search for other Negro students, determined to find the right crowd. At the Bursar’s office on registration day, Emma Lou found herself in line behind another black first-year girl and was immediately excited. But this excitement left Emma Lou as soon as the young woman opened her mouth. Hazel Mason was the wrong kind of Negro. She was the exact type of person that Emma Lou tried so desperately to distinguish herself from. And to Emma Lou’s dismay, Hazel seemed to be the only Negro student willing to be friends with her. The other Negro students were pleasant enough when introducing themselves, but they did not invite Emma Lou into their circle, and they most certainly did not invite her to join their sorority. After Hazel stopped attending classes, a young woman named Grace Giles became Emma Lou’s only true companion in Los Angeles. Grace, who was also left out of the sorority, enlightened Emma Lou about the women asked to join. Emma Lou would never be asked because she was too dark and not wealthy enough.
Emma Lou returned to Boise for the summer noticing even more the color of her skin and the limitations it created. She realized that all black leaders were either light-skinned or had light-skinned wives. Contrary to Uncle Joe’s belief, the people in Los Angeles proved to be the same as the people in Boise when it came to the color of someone’s skin.
At a picnic during the summer, Emma Lou found herself in the company of a young man named Weldon Taylor. His skin was a darker than Emma Lou’s ideal, but she did not let this stop her from getting close to him. By the end of the night, the two had kissed and Emma Lou was in love. Over the next two weeks, Emma Lou changed. She was no longer the anti-social being, living up to her family’s ideas of her as a misfit. She spent her nights with Weldon, thrilled by "his presence and his love making."[1] But the truth was that Weldon would never marry Emma Lou. He traveled from town to town, finding work and a new girl with each move. And he was leaving Boise to become a Pullman porter. However, Emma Lou believed that the only reason he was leaving, the reason he would never marry her, was because she was too dark. No matter the circumstance, Emma Lou would always believe that her dark skin brought about the pitfalls in her life. In the fall, Emma Lou returned to school in Los Angeles for two more years, but was desperate to make her escape, and finally did.
Part 2 Harlem
Emma Lou had been in Harlem for five weeks. Yet she lamented the two nights she had spent with a young man, John, for he was too dark. Emma Lou quit her job as an actress’s maid to pursue a job that would prove to the people of Boise and Los Angeles that she was not crazy for moving to Harlem. She would go to the employment office and get a job as a stenographer.
Emma Lou had no luck at the first employment agency that she visited. After lying about her skills at the second employment agency, Emma Lou was on her way to get a job in a real estate office. However, she did not get the job, for the office had somebody else in mind, or so they said as soon as Emma Lou entered the office. She returned to the employment agency to again talk to Mrs. Blake, the woman running the office. Mrs. Blake invited Emma Lou to lunch, and Emma Lou accepted, "warmed toward any suggestion of friendliness"[1] and excited to have the chance "to make a welcome contact."[1]
At lunch, Emma Lou spoke proudly of her life in Boise, but when it came to discussing her college days, she became much more reserved. Emma Lou did her best to change the subject, eventually forcing Mrs. Blake to give up her inquiries about college. She then began to talk about employment, revealing an almost brutal truth to Emma Lou: business men had certain ideas of what the women they hired should be, and they would not hire anybody else. She suggested that Emma Lou go to Teacher’s College and get a job in the public school system. Emma Lou left the lunch unsure of what to do. She did not want to return home to her smelly building, but much of the day remained. She walked along Seventh Avenue, one of her favorite places to walk, and began to think of John. She paused outside a window, using her reflection to try to rid herself of the shine on her nose. When a few young men walked by, they were talking about her. Before walking away, laughing, one man said, "There’s a girl for you ‘Fats.’" Fats replied "Man, you know I don’t haul no coal."[1]
Part 3 Alva
Emma Lou’s mother wanted her to return to Boise. But, Emma Lou had no interest in returning home. She had found a job in New York as a maid to Arline Strange, an actress "in an alleged melodrama about Negro life in Harlem." To Emma Lou, the characters in the show were all caricatures. After the show one night, Emma Lou went with Arline and Arline’s brother from Chicago to Small’s Paradise, a cabaret. Arline was shocked to hear that Emma Lou had never been to a cabaret. "Why I thought all colored people went,"[1] she said to Emma Lou. At Small’s, Emma Lou had her first drink, a highball made with the contents of Arline’s brother’s hip flask. Emma Lou was entranced by the dancers at the cabaret. As Arline and her brother danced with one another, Emma Lou noticed a table of three colored men. They were looking at her and talking. As Emma Lou returned her attention to the dancers, one of the young men approached her and asked her to dance. They danced until the lights came on, and the young man returned to his table. The next morning, Alva, the young man who danced with Emma Lou, and his roommate Braxton talked about the night. They agreed that it was good that Alva danced with Emma Lou, because no one else would have due to her dark complexion.
After asking the stage director if she had a chance at joining the chorus, Emma Lou began to notice the gap between her and the actresses in the cabaret. He pointed out that the chorus girls all had similar complexions, complexions much lighter than Emma Lou’s. She became more and more lonesome and finally decided to look for a new room to live in, hoping that that would help her meet the right sort of people. She had little luck and, once again, blamed her suffering on her blackness. Her mother was right, she thought, "Black boys can make a go of it, but black girls…"[1]
Growing tired of John, Emma Lou decided to go to the Renaissance Casino, hoping to run into Jasper Crane, a man she met at a movie theater, who had asked her if she ever went to the casino. Jasper did not seem to be at the casino that night, but Emma Lou saw another familiar face, Alva, the man she had danced with at the cabaret. Another man asked Emma Lou to dance, and she used this as an opportunity to get closer to Alva. After a while, Emma Lou approached Alva to see if he remembered her. He appeared to, but Braxton was the one who actually remembered her. Alva kept up the appearance of having remembered her, talking and dancing with Emma Lou and giving her his phone number. She called him the next day, but the phone conversation was a disappointment. Emma Lou had no chance to make future plans with Alva, and she cried herself to sleep that night. Calling Alva again, Emma Lou made plans to meet him at the theater after Arline’s show. Braxton was not happy with the pair: she was too dark. Alva thought differently: "She’s just as good as the rest, and you know what they say, ‘The Blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.’"[1]
Part 4 Rent Party
Alva never took Emma Lou to parties or dances. He didn’t want to introduce her to his friends because he didn’t want to be ridiculed for being with somebody as dark as her. But, because Emma Lou was so color-conscious, he knew he had to take her to meet some of his friends at some point, or she would think he was embarrassed by her color. So he decided to take her to a party, with only some of his friends. He always took Geraldine, the young woman Alva was with at the casino, to parties and dances. Geraldine was also the one woman who Alva associated with because he actually liked her, not just for monetary reasons.
Emma Lou was very excited, though nervous, for the party. She worried that Alva’s friends would be like the people she knew in Boise, those who thought only of her skin. She convinced herself that Alva liked her enough to not put her in a group of people who did not want her there. After entering the room, she was introduced to everyone, including a white man. After introductions, the conversation resumed, and Emma Lou remained quiet. The conversation revolved around race: the differences between being a mulatto and a Negro, and individuals who are prejudiced or "color struck."[1] Emma Lou did not know whether she should be upset. Should she be angry, or sad. Finally, the group left for the house-rent party.
Emma Lou had consumed enough alcohol to warrant a visit from her land lady the next morning. The land lady kicked Emma Lou out of her room for not living up to the standards of the respectable land lady and her respectable house. Emma Lou began to think about Alva. He was more loving and kind than any other person in her life. But he was manipulative. He was in control of every situation and had somehow managed to get Emma Lou to give him money, though Emma Lou did not know how. Emma Lou suggested that they get married, but he turned down the idea. After two marriages, he believed the wedding ceremony to be a waste of time.
Alva began to lose patience with Braxton. He did not pay his share of the rent as he had no job. So Alva found him a girl, Anise Hamilton. But Anise left him as soon as he brought another girl to a dance, using Anise’s money. Alva was furious with Braxton, and Braxton moved.
Alva continued to deny Emma Lou’s requests and suggestions that they live together. Alva took Emma Lou to the midnight show at the Lafayette theater—quite the social scene "among certain classes of Harlem folk"[1] on a Friday night. But the show included jokes about skin color, something Emma Lou had become so sensitive to. Any mention of skin color made Emma Lou feel attacked. She told Alva, "You’re always taking me some place, or placing me in some position where I’ll be insulted."[1] Emma Lou wanted to fight with Alva, had wanted to for a while. This gave Alva the opportunity to point out just how color-conscious Emma Lou is.
One night, after the brawl with Emma Lou, Alva returned to his room to find Geraldine sleeping in his bed. She was pregnant with his child.
Part 5 Pyrrhic Victory
Two years later, Emma Lou was working as a personal maid for Clere Sloane, a retired stage beauty. Emma Lou liked her new job, for she was more "a companion than a servant."[1] Clere’s husband, Campbell Kitchen, was a white writer who was very interested in Harlem.
Alva’s words had stuck with Emma Lou. She wondered if she was too color-conscious. She was not comfortable around many people and felt out of place. She had few friends and constantly resented her skin color.
The relationship between Alva and Emma Lou had ended, but she still loved him. She decided to see him once more. However, Geraldine answered Emma Lou’s knock on his door, and Emma Lou left without speaking to him.
Alva was content to be with Geraldine. But they had not yet figured out how they would raise their child, who was born disfigured. Geraldine and Alva both wanted to kill their child, as he brought nothing but trouble upon their family. Alva drank more than ever, and they needed money. They began to fear each other, fear that one would run away in the night, leaving the other with the baby. As Alva drank, Geraldine worked and saved her money in hopes that she would be able to run away first. The alcohol finally took its toll on Alva, rendering him unable to eat.
Living in the Y.W.C.A., Emma Lou finally found herself in a different world, a world filled with the right sort of people. She was busy taking teaching classes, had made a friend, Gwendolyn Johnson, and had less time than ever to think about and pity herself. Gwendolyn tried to make Emma Lou forget about the color of her skin. But Gwendolyn’s constant effort to make Emma Lou feel good about her dark skin made her feel even worse. Emma Lou had found herself in the company of the right sort of people, but they felt wrong. She continued to work, hoping that Campbell Kitchen’s theory that economic independence would solve her problems would prove true.
Another man found his way into Emma Lou’s life. Benson Brown, a "yaller nigger,"[1] was light enough and attracted to Emma Lou. This was all the reason Emma Lou needed to begin a relationship with Benson.
Alva continued to drink, and Geraldine continued to worry that Alva would die, leaving their child in her care. Before it was too late, Geraldine ran away. The night she left, while Alva’s son was in the care of a neighbor, Emma Lou appeared at his door. Emma Lou left the Y.W.C.A. and moved in with Alva to take care of him and his son, Alva Junior. Six months passed. Emma Lou began teaching at a Harlem public school and had managed to make Alva Junior appear a bit more normal. But Alva Senior began to annoy her once again. Emma Lou felt victimized at the school. She wore a lot of make-up in attempts to disguise her dark skin, but this just brought on ridicule from her colleagues. She had found economic independence, but her troubles still plagued her.
She realized that she had to leave Alva and his son. On her way back to the Y.W.C.A., Emma Lou called Benson. He and Gwendolyn had wanted to contact her but could not find her. They wanted to invite her to their wedding. Emma Lou was stunned. Gwendolyn always talked down "yaller niggers"[1] but had now married the very "yaller nigger" that Emma Lou had once dated.
Emma Lou spent her life running. She ran away from Boise to get away from the color prejudice. Then she left Los Angeles for similar reasons. But she decided she was not going to run away again. She realized there were many others like her. She had to accept herself, all of herself, exactly as she was. [1]
Characters
Emma Lou Morgan: a young, dark-skinned African-American woman. She grew up in Boise, Idaho, encountering discrimination by the lighter-skinned African-Americans throughout her childhood. She left Boise to go to college in Los Angeles, but did not finish her education. She moved to Harlem where she worked as a maid, and eventually as a teacher. She is constantly plagued by her darkness and her own obsession with the color of her skin prevents her from living as she would like to.Uncle Joe: the only member of Emma Lou's family with whom she has a close bond. He suggest that she go to Los Angeles for college.
Hazel Mason: The first African-American Emma Lou meets in college. Hazel is the "wrong" kind of African-American and Emma tries to limit her association with Hazel.
Alva: one of Emma Lou’s love interests. Alva is a lighter-skinned African-American living in Harlem. He manipulates women, using their money to get by. Alva is an alcoholic. He is left responsible for his son, first by Geraldine, the mother, and then by Emma Lou.
Braxton: Alva’s roommate. Braxton does not approve of Emma Lou’s dark complexion.
Geraldine: one of Alva’s female companions and the mother to his son. Geraldine leaves Alva and their son.
John: Emma Lou’s first love interest in Harlem. When Emma Lou is unhappy, she tends to think about and desire John.
Arline Strange: an actress. Emma Lou was Arline’s maid and in charge of helping with her make-up and costumes.
Gwedolyn Johnson: Emma Lou’s friend from the Y.W.C.A. Gwendolyn tries to lift Emma Lou’s spirits about her complexion, but actually makes matters worse by constantly pointing out skin color. Gwendolyn marries Benson Brown.
Benson Brown: Emma Lou’s love interest after she moves to the Y.W.C.A. He is lighter-skinned and the "right" sort of African-American man. Benson Marries Gwendolyn. [1]
See also
Harlem RenaissanceHarlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
Wallace Thurman
Wallace Thurman
Wallace Henry Thurman was an American novelist during the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his novel The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, which explores discrimination among black people based on skin color.-Early life:...
African-American Literature
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
The Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance by authors Sandra L. West and Aberjhani, is a book that made history in 2003 when it became the first published encyclopedic volume to chronicle the lives, events, and culture that comprised the celebrated historical era, 1920s-1940s, known worldwide as...