Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored Essay, Research Paper

Once Upon a Time When we were Colored is a very good book. I will summarize the events in this book in the next few paragraphs. I will explain Uncle Cleve s personality and the author. I will also explain the prejudice in this book.

This book begins as the author begins to explain in the first person about his Uncle Cleve. He describes his personality, an independent man and with a traditional characteristic. He explained that even though Uncle Cleve was black he was showed respect by his peers as he was called Mormon . After that he explained how Uncle Cleve employed him for the first time. Uncle Cleve ran the only icehouse in Glen Allan. When the author received a job at the ice factory he could hardly sleep the night before his first day. Shortly there after Uncle Cleve and him took a trip down to Jackson city to see the big show. When they finally reached the show the usher said I am sorry, but this isn t the night for niggers. Surprisingly Uncle Cleve was totally silent on the way home, he did not to explain to him the obviousness of the truth, the world was prejudice to black people.

This book is a very down to earth book about the world, it included no hatred towards either black people nor white people. It showed that a man did not have to be white or black to have been shown respect by his peers. It also shows the pain of a man trying to explain the prejudice of the world to a child that probably won t understand.