Racism In Melton Mclaurin's Separate Pasts?

Melton A. McLaurin’s Separate Pasts: Growing Up White in the Segregated South is the story of the author’s own experience of being raised white in the South during the final years of segregation. This firsthand knowledge is a valuable resource to students of Southern studies for two important reasons. The first is that it offers an inside look from the perspective of a white person, something that is not often shared in schools. The other reason is that is elaborates on the complexities of racist thought in the different social classes of the time. This combination of inside perspective and explanation of the types of racism during the time of Jim Crow makes Separate Pasts a compelling read and a vital tool in the education of Southern life and history. McLaurin’s brutally honest account of his journey through his racial prejudice as a youth is not something often found when studying the era of segregation in the South. Most resources available to students include factual information on the racism of whites or first person accounts from the perspective of blacks who suffered under the prejudice. Sometimes there is a narrative from a white person at the time that displays their racism, but hardly ever is there one from someone who is sharing with the full knowledge that they were wrong in their thoughts and analyzing

McLaurin. The book should be utilized in Southern studies partly because of McLaurin’s firsthand account, which provides an honest voice into the thought process of white Southerners at the time, something not commonly found in resources covering the period. It also should be used because it identifies the variation in racial prejudices that whites held. By making Separate Pasts an essential tool in the education of Southern studies, students will hold a greater understanding of the segregation era and the motivations of the people who lived in