Growing up as a child in the 1970s in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, the differences between me and my playmates never occurred to me. Although my mother and I eventually moved to the suburbs, my father remained there until adulthood. However, it was only late in childhood, when I visited my father on weekends, that I began to differentiate between my friends and myself, between my father's house and mine. The realization that I was different was perhaps due to the piercing stares and turned heads at the local market. Or maybe it was the racial epithets exchanged in anger between childhood friends. However, the image indelibly burned into my memory is that others called me “Casper.” Yes, I am white, chalk white, milk white, even ghostly white. If others hadn't continually pointed this out to me, I doubt I would have noticed it at such a young age. However, when you are young and searching for your identity, labels tend to stick with you and images stick in your mind long after they have fallen into disuse. Although this self-image lasted for decades, it was far less humiliating than the self-image. labels applied to an entire race of African Americans. According to sociologist David Pilgrim, during the Jim Crow era (1877-1965), various "stereotypical depictions of black people helped popularize the belief that black people were lazy, stupid, inherently less human, and unworthy of integration" ( "Who Was"). Promoted and exploited by the entertainment industry, the black stereotype "Mammy" and the trusty "Tom" have permeated American culture in the form of cartoons, films, radio, television and theater, dehumanizing blacks and ultimately providing...... middle of paper ...... Raine Vivian. American National Biography Online 2000. Oxford UP. Web September 30, 2011. Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Jackson, Kenneth T. “The Baby Boom and the Age of Subdivision.” New York: Oxford UP, 1985. 231-245. Nemiroff, Robert. By Lorraine Hansberry. New York: VintageBooks, 1994. 5-14. Print. Pilgrim, David. “Mom's Caricature” Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. FerrisState University. October 2000. Web. December 15, 2011.---. “Tom's Caricature” Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University.Dec. 2000. Internet. December 15, 2011.---. “Who Was Jim Crow?” Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University, Sept. 2000. Internet. December 15. 2011.