Let`s Talk About Race

Julius Lester views each person`s life as a story, citing his own as an example. Lester was born in St. Louis in 1939. His father was a minister, and he had a brother who died. He`s Jewish, loves to eat fish, and enjoys crossword puzzles. All of these are important elements of who he is. He is also black, and though this is an aspect of his story, he feels that it doesn`t define him. People of all races spend time fighting about whose race is better for all sorts of reasons, sometimes because they are scared or have low self-esteem. But race shouldn`t stop friendships from growing, because people are all the same under their skin--or, as Lester puts it, Beneath everyone`s skin are the same hard bones. Accompanied by bold, tropically colored paintings. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.