One Drop Too White

Bearing aversion & dubiety for society, Mike Mose braved the culture ofDetroit, Michigan in the 1990s. Even though the city became ravaged with poverty& violence, the calamity taking place within his home created his ultimate austerity.With a womanizing father who was imprisoned due to illicit business dealings, hismother was forced to raise f ive boys alone. She overcame extreme f inancial hardships& was able to move her family to the suburbs of Southfield, Michigan. The moveguaranteed her children an opportunity to attain the spectrum of grandeur that shedesired for them.In Mike Moses new environment, he was introduced to a class of AfricanAmericans hed never encountered before. While in the suburbs, he realized that hedidnt quite agree with the belief systems that the kids there had developed aboutrace & lower class blacks. Thus, he became entangled in an identity crisis; one wherehe struggled with his city roots and his new middle class beginning.Mikes closest friends in Detroit were involved in underworld criminal activity,running with gangs such as CS8 & the Motown Legends. However, he strived to fitin with a new crew in Southfield called PBC. PBC was a selective group of youngblack men in the area, who wanted Mike to forget about his friends in Detroit.As a young, light skinned African-American man, Mike was a constant victimof intra-racism, victimized by dark skinned blacks. He also witnessed dark skinnedblacks fall victim to intra-racism as well. The intra-racism that he encountered wascompelling, and brings to light this ugly secret that has been hidden in the African-American community.Throughout the book, Mike Mose remains stuck in the middle of two worlds,representing the unique position that many African-Americans, who move to thesuburbs from inner cities, are placed in.