Flight (Voices of the South) [Paperback]

Walter Francis White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998 | Series: Voices of the South

Published amid controversy in 1926, FLIGHT focuses on the dilemma of Mimi Daquin, a New Orleans creole who, for a time, passes as white. An unexpected pregnancy causes Mimi to abandon her prosperous family and move to Harlem. Racial attitudes of the times--by both whites and blacks--are compellingly portrayed by author Walter White (1893-1955), a blond-haired, blue-eyed black man and NAACP activist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Today's obsession with American racial categories makes this formerly long-out-of-print Harlem Renaissance-era novel by Walter White, a former president of the NAACP, as relevant as when it was published in 1926. Flight deals with the peculiar phenomenon known as "passing," whereby fair-skinned African Americans, in an effort to escape racism, masqueraded--"passed"--as Caucasian. White, who with his blond hair and blue eyes could have easily passed himself, writes about the perils of Mime Daquin, a New Orleans-bred mulatto who is forced to leave her sheltered Creole community in the Crescent City and move to Atlanta, where she encounters the color line. Shamed by an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, she flees to Philadelphia and finally ends up in Harlem where she crosses the line for good. White weaves a tale that deals with racism, caste, and the eternal pull of racial and cultural bloodlines not easily severed. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Review

“An excellent novel which should be read with increasing wonder by all those who are unfamiliar with the less sordid circles of Negro life.... With this second book Mr. White takes on quite a new stature. There is little doubt but that he will be heard from further.”–New York Herald Tribune --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807122807
• ISBN-13: 978-0807122808
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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