Why
I'm Black and You are White
"Hey
there, Uncle Remus. How are you doing today?"
The
little boy sat on the chair across from Uncle Remus. He
was drinking some cool lemonade and enjoying the shade, out of the
heat!
"Oh!
Hey there, lil' Joe. How's your day going? Want
some of this cool lemonade? I made some hoping you would come see me
today."
The
little boy nodded his head and said, "Uncle Remus,
can you tell me a story about you? You always talking about the weather
and
food, but what about you?"
Uncle
Remus laughed. "What you wanna kno', son? What can I,
Uncle Remus, teach a smart lil' boy like you?"
The little boy sipped on
his cool lemonade and then asked, "Why are you black, Uncle
Remus?"
"Do you
really wanna kno', Joe? Uncle Remus'll tell ya
if you really wants to kno." The little boy nodded really fast and sat
back in his chair...
"Well,
Joe, there was a time long long ago when
everyone was black. I mean your grandpappy and your grandmammy, and my
mammy
and my pappy,and even Mr. and Mrs. Jennings folk was black. You see, we
were
all niggers at one time, but then something changed."
"What
was that?" Joe asked anxiously as he sipped
on his lemonade.
"Well,
like I said, all folks, even Chinese and Mexicans,
were black. Well one day when all of us were doing our daily work, a
little
white boy came running into town. We were all so scared 'cause we had
never
seen one of his kind before. Then he came up ta me and said,
'Remus! It's me,
Johnny!' I was so scared that I ran home and didn't come out for days.
All I
heard were people asking Johnny how he got that way and he told them he
done bathed
in the river down the road. Most of da folks hooped and hollered and
went
running down the road. For days the grown folks didn't return and when
they
did, they washed all the black off of 'em!"
Joe
started laughing and shaking his head, no, but Uncle
Remus nodded his head yes.
"And
then there were those niggers, like my family and
me and others, who decided to remain black and stay a nigger for life."
"Well,
if everyone jumped in the river then how come we
are all different colors?" asked Joe.
"You
know you are one smart boy, Joe. Well listen and
I'll tell ya." Uncle Remus pointed to an Asian woman walking across the
street, and Joe's head followed. "You see that there woman. She's a
what,
lil' Joe?"
"A
Chinese!" Joe answered.
"You's
right, lil' Joe. You sho' is right. Well, dem Chinese
became dis way because they didn't get they head wet and it stayed
straight,
'cause if it was to get wet, then it would get nappy like black folks
hair. But
yeah, that's how you get dem Chinese folk."
"And
what about Mexicans? Why are they brown?"
Joe asked with a smile on his face.
"Well,
after they got in the water and turned white, to
keep the sun from burning they skin they put dirt all over them so
they skin
could keep cool."
"Wow! I
didn't know that," Joe said.
"Well,
you tell me this, smarty pants. How do you get an
Indian and black folks?"
Joe
answered proudly, "You get an Indian
by mixing a brown Mexican with a straight- haired Chinese. And Black
folks.
Blacks folks stayed black because they didn't get in the water and the
sun kept
baking 'em like they were chickens!"
Uncle
Remus laughed and said, "You right, lil' Joe.
You's right." He then looked at the sky. "The sun's about to sleep so
you better hurries home 'fore you mammy or pappy skin your hide for
being in
afta dark!"
Lil Joe
gave Uncle Remus a hug and thanked him for the lemonade. "Goodnight,
Uncle Remus. See you tomorrow."
Uncle
Remus waved at him as he left and went inside to his
wife Aunt Jemima.
"You love
you some Joe, don't you, Remus?"
"Yeah,
yeah. He's smart and keeps me laughing. C'mon
now. It's time for bed."
When
they walked into the bedroom, Jemima said, "You
want some pancakes in the morning, Remus? You kno' Joe loves them. We
can save
him some."
Remus
smiled and said, "Yeah. Lil' Joe sure would. We
can make some in the morning. Night night, Jemima."
She
gave him a hug and kissed him. "Night night,
Remus." She then blew out their gas lamp and they went to sleep for the
night.
Author's Note:
I have decided to retell the story of "Why The Negro
Is
Black" because to my understanding, it gave an introduction to the
stories
that Uncle Remus tells. Also for my storybook, it lets the reader know
that Uncle Remus' listeners are young children, mostly white. For my
story, I
decided
to give the little boy, listening to his
story, a name. Then I
gave them a close relationship to show that they enjoy one another's
company. I
changed the story to fit my own vision and version of this particular
story. I
also chose Aunt Jemima as his wife because she is a symbol for food
(real-world) and I wanted to add recipes to my storybook.
Image
Information:
"Uncle Remus Telling a Story
Happily". Weblink
Bibliography
Title: Why the Negro Is Black
Author: Joel Chandler Harris
(analysis by Richard M) (1881)
Weblink
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