From Pinky to her Granny

Dear Granny,

I am sorry that you feel like I have been denying who I truly am and ultimately rejecting my roots, and you. It is true that I have been living my life in the north as a white woman, not telling anyone where I actually come from. It is my biggest regret ever doing something that would hurt you. You have sacrificed so much for me and I am ashamed that I have kept you a secret, and even more ashamed that I have received a privileged life in return.

I wish there was a way to explain to you the difficulty in looking the way I do in a country so divided. I cannot wholly fit into either group, white or black, for I feel like an outsider around both. White people often mistake me for white, but when they find out I’m a negro it infuriates them. I don’t know if their anger comes from their embarrassment for not being able to tell, or their fear that whiteness and blackness aren’t as far apart as they want it to be. And if my revelation is not met by anger, it is often met with the lust of unsavory white men, who find something exotic in a negro who looks like a lady.

Granny I never meant to hurt you, or forget about you. But when so many people were mistaking me for white, it became easier to play the part. And to be honest Granny, sometimes I really liked being white. No one refused to serve me, to one questioned my morality or my intelligence. I know that it is a horrible sin before God’s eyes but, I really liked being white. I hope that my honest does not cut you even deeper than my actions already have, but I want you to try and see the world through my eyes. You are my only family and nothing could ever change that, I am still your Pinky.

With all my Love,

Pinky

QUESTIONS:

1. In the movie Pinky, the lighter skinned Pinky is much more resentful of Miss Em than her grandmother. In the end, Miss Em wills her estate to Pinky and her clothing to Granny, ultimately making Miss Em a “good” or at least sympathetic character. What is the movie trying to convey with the difference between how Pinky and Granny view Miss Em ? Is it a commentary on generational differences between black people or rather meant to reflect their different levels of privilege?

2. In Playing Indian, Deloria states that, “Americans had an awkward tendency to define themselves by what they were not.” Is this statement still relevant to the shaping of “American” identity today? Do you only become American when you relinquish everything else?