The Color of Water

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How did James’ misunderstanding and confusion with his own identity and race positively affect his life?

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When James asks his mother whether God is black or white, he is a boy living in a predominantly black community with a mother who looks white, and is simply expressing his personal confusion about race. To add to the confusion, however, his mother simply responds that she is "light-skinned". When his mother explains that God doesn't have a color, and that God is "the color of water", the image converges questions of racial and religious division into an essence that is clear and universally spiritual - in other words, "human". It takes James much of his life to understand what she means and come to peace with his own identity.