Dear Miss Lacy,

You failed to speak on behalf of Jewish people at a dinner party, instead choosing to look at your plate and be silent.

I, too, have been silent. When a friend's husband spoke hatefully of Negroes in front of me, not knowing that I (and my friend) are Negro, I said nothing. Why hadn't I spoken? I couldn't reveal my friend to her husband. I stayed silent for her and let hi malign my race.

And you stayed silent for what? Fear? Social decorum? Now, we are to presume, you have learned your lesson to stand up for Jewish people. I continued my silence to John Bellew. I couldn't reveal Clare, I couldn't stand up for our people.

These choices we make, they effect huge groups of people, ourselves, our friends and our lovers. We are not alone and our silences are not our own.

Sincerely,
Irene


Questions:
1. How does class complicate issues of race and passing in Quicksand and Passing?

2. In "Policing the Black Woman's Body in the Urban Context", Carby describes Jane Edna Hunter as a mother figure, leading woman away from vice, while Alberta Hunter finds maternal nurturance from prostitutes. What is the role of a mother and what is the role of a mother figure in these times?