Description: "Supplement text for courses in African-American History and History of Immigration. The Afro-Creole story offers a unique historical lens through which to understand the issues of migration, immigration, passing, identity and color - forces that still shape American society today"--Provided by publisher.
Review Quotes: We Are Who We Say We Are is a captivating examination of race, class, and identity spanning several centuries and geographic borders...[E]xhaustively researched..."--Michael Dickinson, The Journal of African American History
"We Are Who We Say We Are is a beautifully written historical narrative of an American family. Provocative and compelling, this book brims with insight while powerfully reflecting the universally human truths of everyday life."--Elijah Anderson, Yale University"A deeply-researched, subtle, and eye-opening analysis of the 'in-between' social status of people who look white, but whose reputed African descent marked them for discrimination. This marvelous book shows us how, within the same colored Creole family, unyielding racial and economic barriers led some to leave New Orleans and pass for white, while others--bound by family, community, and cultural ties--chose to become 'black' and forge civil rights alliances with African Americans."--Kevin Gaines, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
"Mary Frances Berry's gift as a writer is her ability to follow an individual family--here the Snaer family--and show us America anew. Berry impressively details how the social construction of race was lived in America-the ways in which people were placed and shaped, how they were seen, and how they altered their identity in a racially stratified United States."--Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College of CUNY and author of the award-winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks