BLACKER THE BERRY. . .

Rating:
Summary: the truth hurts
Review: black people can be as cruel to their own as the white man, if not worse...this novel does an excellent job of pointing out racism between blacks of different shades, african-americans against africans, and upperclass blacks against lowerclass blacks.... by making emma a snob, wallace made her a believeable character instead of a martyr...also check out the way he send up the leading figures of the harlem renaissance ( langston hughes, zora neale hurston ) he shows harlem for the magical black mecca it is, and he doesnt have to exaggerate on it...i couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Rating:
Summary: Wake up call
Review: Emma Lou has always felt that, her dark skin has cause all the bad things that happens to her. Emma Lou regrets that she is so dark, and the rest of her family is so light, except her father who left when she was a baby. Emma family makes it worst by always making remarks about her being so dark. Emma goes to school thinking that her color will be more accepted in a bigger city, but in her eyes it's the same thing. Even though Emma throught she was better than blacks from the South, and didn't want to be friends with the only black girl, Hazel for that reason. Emma moves to New York, she only date lightskin men, because she feels that make her more attractive if she can get a lightskin man. Toward the end of the books, friends tried to make her realize that her being dark wasent' the reason for all her troubles, and it was and inside thing for her. I throught the book was good, but that sometime Emma put too much into the color thing. I think the reason, that black people acted like color was so much back then in the 20,'s and later that's why it's becoming so big and issue now.

Rating:
Summary: From Black to Blacker
Review: For some people black is black. But not for the main character in Blacker the Berry, Emma Lou. She is very black in a family that is not that black.
BtB is about her struggle against color prejudice from the white world in the 20s but also within the black world. She tries fighting this but trying to be more white and also by bleaching her skin to appear more white, but mostly to no avail.

This beautiful and somewhat sad story is great to read more about colorism and/or color consciousness. the irony in the book is great. Watch out for a Rent Party and a man called Truman Walter, I think this is Thurman Wallace speaking.

great read, one of the better in African American Literature

Rating:
Summary: Response to Thurman's "The Blacker the Berry"
Review: Having recently finished reading the book, I wonder whether such debilitating attitudes still obtain in the African American community--attitudes that hold that dark skin is unattractive, even ugly. To answer my own query, my sense is that there are still elements of such thinking, born of self-denial and disafirmation. The character in Thurman's book, Emma, who was reared to think of herself as "too black"; was not suffering from a personal problem. Color consciousness is not a black invention; it is a product of centuries of white racism. This book will help black parents to understand their notions of beauty.

Rating:
Summary: Classic still relevant
Review: I've just finished this engrossing novel and heartily recommend it. Thurman addresses intraracial prejudice-Black America's dirty little secret with eloquence and brutal honesty. Though life is not nearly as difficult for dark skinned women these days as it was for our poor beleagured anti-heroine Emma Lou, the specter of color preference remains within African-American culture. One has only to turn on the television our listen to popular so-called urban music to realize that for too many-lighter is still better. I applaud Thurman's courage to tackle such a tangible issue that has been largely forbidden from polite Black conversation. Like other readers, I would have enjoyed more dialogue, however I think the book's exposition helped elucidate the book's premise that though Emma Lou's problems stemmed from a combination of her upbringing, society and herself, the only way she could improve her life was to address that which she would alter-namely her perspective.

Rating:
Summary: fair....
Review: The Blacker the Berry is a tragic and heartfelt story of Emma Lou, a dark skinned young woman coming of age during the Harlem Renaissance era. Emma Lou is the only dark skinned person, from Boise, Idaho, in a family of mulattos that her grandmother termed the "blue veins". Their creed, "whiter and whiter, every generation." The thought was, the closer you are to white the more white people will respect you. Not so for Emma Lou, the product of a mulatto mother and "blue black man" that the family felt was no good simply because of his skin tone. Imagine growing up in a family that despised and shunned you because of your skin color; imagine going away to college in Southern California and receiving the same treatment by light skinned students on campus and finally running away to Harlem with the false notion of being accepted, and finding the same anal attitudes. As a result Emma Lou has some choices to make-either succumb to the prejudices and spiral into a state of depression or face them head on and remain true to herself.

Shirley Taylor Haizlip offers a stunning introduction of this novel by providing some historical and sociological aspects of colorism within all cultures and some thoughts on some early reviews of The Blacker the Berry.

Wallace Thurman has written a sad tale of our attitudes within our own culture that has fostered many debates and continues to be a topic of discussion. Using very descriptive language, strong characterizations and at times, an almost satirical flair, Thurman forces you to review your own prejudices. Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: The Blacker the Berry tells the story of a dark-skinned female who comes to grip withher skin color. She has to deal with racism from all around her including within her own family. She realizes that she can't change things and that she will just have to accept it and love herself for the way she is. The Blacker the Berry is a great read for everyone, not only dark-skinned people. It will teach you to love yourself and to appreciate others the way they are.

Rating:
Summary: A timeless classic
Review: This book reminds us how deeply the color complex runs throughout the African American community. Anyone interested in exploring his or her own attitudes about the issue of color prejudice amongst Blacks must read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A timeless classic
Review: This book reminds us how deeply the color complex runs throughout the African American community. Anyone interested in exploring his or her own attitudes about the issue of color prejudice amongst Blacks must read this book.

Rating:
Summary: eye-opening look at a mentality that still abounds
Review: This Harlem Renaissance novel is a lost classic in African-American literature that must be reintroduced. My one and only complaint(and a slight one at that) is that sometimes the novel did not transition well between the two separate narrations of Emma Lou and Alva. This problem, however, is easily minisculed by the overall hard-hitting message of the book. At times I found myself getting infuriated by Emma Lou's seemingly silly and immature ways regarding color, but that is likely exactly what the author had set out to do--to make the reader realize the absurdity in being so color-conscious.
Though perhaps not as rampant as it was in the era that the novel is set, the whole light-complected/good hair complex is unfortunately an issue that still plagues the African- American community today. It is profound books such as this that will hopefully enlighten those practicing intra-racism that, light or dark, we are ALL considered 'black' by others, and that on a larger scale, regardless of anyone's race, we are ALL human. This is the realization that Emma Lou struggles with in the novel, and one that hopefully the reader will 'get'.