`Black Girl, White Girl' by Joyce Carol Oates

“Black Girl, White Girl” by Joyce Carol Oates is the story of Gemma Meade, a freshman student at Schuyler College, and Minette Swift, her roommate. Minette graduated with honors from her high school and won a scholarship to Schuyler. Gemma tells the story of their relationship and their life at college. Gemma's father is an attorney who defends anti-violence protestors and believes in democracy. His house is twenty rooms and a guest house on sixty acres. Gemma's mother, Victoria, waits for him as a dutiful wife. Minette is the daughter of a minister, and although she is black, she worships an icon on the wall depicting a white-haired Jesus. They are unlikely roommates, but Gemma is determined to get along with Minette.

A mighty storm occurs one night, and a window in their room breaks, possibly by a falling branch. Gemma promises to report it so it can be repaired right away. Author Joyce Carol Oates takes us back to 1974 and the night then-president Nixon resigned. Gemma and her parents watch Nixon on television, and Max, her father, spits at the screen and yells insults at Nixon. Her father is enraged by Nixon raising his arms in a victory salute, but she and her father share a tender moment. On graduation day, Gemma describes the proud black Swift family as her mother, Victoria Meade, tours the family home with a guide who cites the underground railroad that saved the slaves who squeezed through the passages a century ago.

Her pink eyeglasses outline Minette's eyes. She looks like “a clenched fist,” says author Oates. Reverend Swift is like the carved prow of a Viking ship. One day, Minette's textbook is found in the mud, and she accuses Gemma of throwing it there, which makes her feel guilty. Her Daddy says this is a safe house. The resident advisor asks Gemma if she took Minette's textbook and all the girls at Haven House are suspects. Later, Minette shares a tin of her mother's blueberry muffins with Gemma. They eat them together and listen to the rain, the closest they've ever been.

One Sunday, Minette starts to walk and goes for miles to the First Baptist Church, where mostly black women enter, and Minette is invisible. The choir sings in the background as Minette goes toward the river. Later, a racist drawing is slipped under the door of their room. Gemma tears it up, flushes it down the toilet, and tells no one. It was titled Hotentot Venus and was disgusting. Gemma asks about her friend Ansel and learns he was a victim of Dow Chemical Corp. She gets sick from this knowledge. She stays in bed, and Minette will not let her die but talks to her as Reverend and Mrs. Swift would have. Sickness is a weakness, Minette believes.

One day, Minette's glove is missing, one of a pair her mother had made for her. Gemma finds it in the gutter, filthy, and she washes it. Minette says, “Ain't,” my glove and throws it at Gemma. Gemma tells Minette how she and her sister Jewel went on the underground railroad inside the walls of the Elias Meade house. Minette refuses to believe her. Gemma yanks her back when Minette steps into the path of a car. They enter a shop where expensive items are for sale. There is a sweater for two hundred dollars, and a salesperson hovers near them as it falls to the floor. They go to a candle store, and Minette buys several because she misses her home, where her aunt Florence always had many candles to honor Jesus's birth. Later, Minette is seen with a tall, dark-skinned man, wearing her nicest coat and magenta lipstick. Who is he? A beau? Gemma gives Minette a leather bag for Christmas and finds it set on the dresser. Two candles are left for Gemma as a present with a sassy card.

After New Year's, the man Minette has been seeing asks about Gemma and her parents. Many faculty members are in touch with the FBI. A racist message appears beneath their door with a message: “Go home, Min Swift, Nigr.” The other girls are upset and are extra nice to Minette, inviting her to the movies while sitting at her dinner table. Afterward, an article is found about the lynching of a man, Nelson Swift, by the KKK. Is this a relative of Minette's? She requests a move to another hall. Her parents came to help her move, and in 1975, she withdrew from Schuyler College. Yet, on her birthday, Gemma buys Minette a dozen white roses. When Minette opens her door, Gemma sees she is sick and depressed, with candles burning around the room, some too close to the organdy curtains. Could they catch on fire?

What becomes of Minette, Gemma, and Gemma's father? This beautifully written novel of racism and relationships can be found on the fiction shelf of your local library. Author Oates has received many awards, including the National Book Award and the PEN Award for Excellence. Although it is an older book, it's still relevant today. Don't miss it.