There have been, so far, many books on colour and racial discrimination, both fiction and non-fiction. However, when the stories of discrimination are told through fictional lenses, they sound not only readable but also highly credible.
In the novel Seeing Things in Black and White, Antoine K Stroman has tried to chronicle the events of colour discrimination that he faced in his life, right from the school days to job searches to present day. The narration of the book is quite close to his heart, so do the stories/events he narrated. The book holds voice raised for humanity and compassion.
Talking about the book, it’s a short read with segmented into three parts. Each part has short chapters, most of them highlighting his stance as being a black man, and how he faced the world when he realized that being black is not taken in healthy spirits outside, or wherever he goes. More or less, the story recounts a remarkable journey of a young black man who has been treated differently, not in good will, because of his skin.
The story commences in the mid 90’s and continues to the present. Reading about how a man was forced out of the neighborhood due to his skin colour is really painful. Our skin colour is given by God to us and nobody should judge anyone based on it.
Below lines perfectly sums up the plight of the narrator:
I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood, and didn’t understand the power of being black until I was placed in an environment where black wasn’t predominant. It was then that I realized just how beautiful black truly was…
The title of the book is apt and the cover of the book is simple but decent.
Grab your copy from Amazon.