Living
within a Black World and coming to know racism first-hand in such a
personal way is rarely the path traveled by the average white American.
Lynn Markovich Bryant shares her story of dealing with racism during
her early life, told directly from the heart. Her journey begins after
the passing of her father while growing up in northern Michigan. Upon
the remarriage of her mother to a Black man during the1960's and the
relocation of her family to the coastal Sea Islands of South Carolina
as a child, Lynn comes face to face with the shocking reality of two
worlds -- a White World and a Black World. She rapidly
learns the unwritten, yet quietly understood rules that govern the separation
of these worlds.
Now
finding herself within a family of varied hues: her white siblings,
black stepbrothers and stepsisters, and the new offspring in her blended
family; Lynn realizes that she still isn't welcome in the white world.
Since she's living in the Black community, she chooses to attend an
all-Black school where she is accepted despite her color. The Black
world becomes her entire world. She unconsciously internalizes and acquires
all the elements of this world, even down to the spoken dialect and
mannerisms.
Yet, while growing up within in an almost totally Black environment,
she encounters problem after problem. She ultimately is forced to attend
an integrated high school and then chooses to enroll in a predominately
white university of the South. Not to mention when she attempts to enter
her chosen profession of teaching, and has already been blackballed
in her hometown because of her family's racial composition. Or the greatest
wound racism inflicted upon her as a young adult, the loss of her college
sweetheart and a broken heart before finding the ultimate partner.
Lynn
shares her transformation from "wishing she were Black" and
"hating whites" to celebrating her uniqueness and the journey
in knowing and loving the Black World, in spite of the trials that accost
Blacks to this day. Yet, as taught in her Faith,
she holds fast to her fervent belief that these worlds must truly come
together in unity.
Living
within a Black World and coming to know racism first-hand in such a
personal way is rarely the path traveled by the average white American.
Lynn Markovich Bryant shares her story of dealing with racism during
her early life, told directly from the heart. Her journey begins after
the passing of her father while growing up in northern Michigan. Upon
the remarriage of her mother to a Black man during the1960's and the
relocation of her family to the coastal Sea Islands of South Carolina
as a child, Lynn comes face to face with the shocking reality of two
worlds -- a White World and a Black World. She rapidly
learns the unwritten, yet quietly understood rules that govern the separation
of these worlds. 
Now
finding herself within a family of varied hues: her white siblings,
black stepbrothers and stepsisters, and the new offspring in her blended
family; Lynn realizes that she still isn't welcome in the white world.
Since she's living in the Black community, she chooses to attend an
all-Black school where she is accepted despite her color. The Black
world becomes her entire world. She unconsciously internalizes and acquires
all the elements of this world, even down to the spoken dialect and
mannerisms. 
Yet, while growing up within in an almost totally Black environment,
she encounters problem after problem. She ultimately is forced to attend
an integrated high school and then chooses to enroll in a predominately
white university of the South. Not to mention when she attempts to enter
her chosen profession of teaching, and has already been blackballed
in her hometown because of her family's racial composition. Or the greatest
wound racism inflicted upon her as a young adult, the loss of her college
sweetheart and a broken heart before finding the ultimate partner.