book the personal librarian by marie benedict

Most of all, Belle had to give up the idea of having a family of her own. There were so many sacrifices that went along with passing that we felt really needed to be explored. She couldn't embrace her father's teachings. Her mother was part of an elite free community of color in Washington, D.C., that had been free for generations.Īnd Belle had to sacrifice all of that to pass as white. So she's kind of steeped in all of that teaching, and that's paired with this wonderful rich heritage she had from her mother. We could have gotten it right from that moment forward. He was an advocate of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which, if it had not been overturned by the Supreme Court in the, could have set the stage for equality.

He was a man who was dean of Howard Law School, one of the first and only Black professors at the University of South Carolina at a time period when it was integrated for a brief moment.īenedict: Yes, during Reconstruction. There was a tremendous amount of sacrifice and victory, and Victoria and I thought it was really important to explore that in the book.īelle's father was Richard Theodore Greener. Morgan's personal librarian and the ability to really wield a great deal of power. I'm wondering if either of you thinks that passing makes you more free or less free?īenedict: Great question! I mean, I think there are certainly benefits of passing, right? Belle had the ability to rise up and become J.P. This summer, Code Switch is focusing on books that touch on the idea of freedom. It's interesting because the central theme in your book, really, in my opinion, is passing. As I came to know more about her, I knew hers was a story that needed to be told. And, you know, I hadn't started writing at that time, but Belle had started to inhabit my imagination way back when.

Did anyone mention Belle da Costa Greene at that point?īenedict: I was so fortunate that a docent who just happened to be in my vicinity mentioned her to me, somebody who had obviously, whether it was through their own research or just word of mouth, knew about the role that Belle had played. Marie, you spent a lot of time browsing through the Morgan when you came to New York in the '90s.

Book the personal librarian by marie benedict