But not you: Being Black But Not too Black in America

My father had a Jewish friend, Mr. Green. My father and Mr. Green would talk about all kinds of things like sports, politics, current events, the price of gas, when Nixon would be impeached, stuff like that.

They also talked about race and religion.

Every now and then my father would say something about Jewish people that was none too flattering and then tag it with, “But not you.” Mr. Green would say something about black people, and tag it with “But not you.” Both men thought they were doing the right thing…