Homegoing Lesson Plan

What does Willie's chapter teach us about blackness and whiteness in America?

Willie's chapter introduces the idea of "passing" to readers; that is, a black person passing as a white person. Robert's skin is so light he is believed to be white even though he is black. His ability to fit into white society, to get a job as a white man, to eventually marry and have a child with a white woman, demonstrates that the divide between races is arbitrary. There is nothing inherently different between black and white people. However, that is not an excuse to be "colorblind." Just because there's nothing inherently different between black and white people doesn't mean that racism...