THE DOCUMENTARY "Little White Lie" airing on "Independent Lens" WHEN|WHERE Monday at 10 p.m. on WNET/13
WHAT IT'S ABOUT Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz confronts what everyone in her life had been "overlooking": That the little girl from the nice white family in Woodstock was black. How did it happen? How could it happen?
The light-skinned Schwartz grew up in Woodstock, a fairly homogeneous white community, never thinking she wasn't just like her parents, Robert and Peggy, and an heir to a New York Jewish immigrant background -- despite the fact that in summer she certainly tanned up a lot darker than anyone else in the family. Robert Schwartz explained Lacey's coloring away by pointing to photographs of his dark-complected Sicilian grandfather, which in retrospect seems ludicrous. (The filmmaker's biological father, no surprise, was really an African-American, who had an extramarital affair with her mother.) Schwartz concludes that everyone was in denial. "If you looked too closely at it," the filmmaker says, "it didn't make sense. So we didn't look."
It's not until she applies to Georgetown University, attaches a picture of herself and is admitted as a black student, that she accepts the obvious. At which point there's something of a hole in the story: She transitions into black college life with nary a speed bump, and it's not until later that the confrontations with her parents get serious. Were they unaware that a major institution of learning had declared their daughter African-American?
Have y'all heard of this? The NPR story was really very interesting.
~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
5. "RE: Young Jewish girl discovers she's half-black (swipe)" In response to Reply # 0
She looked like Drake as a baby though.. dunno how she aint know
Double 0 DJ/Producer/Artist Producer in Kidz In The Hall ------------------------------------------- twitter: @godouble0 IG: @godouble0 www.thinklikearapper.com
>When she was like when I went to undergrad suddenly my bad >hair was good hair and my dark skin was light skin > >She still doesnt get it IMO > >I'm very dark and have dark curly hair. My skin and hair >aren't "bad" just like hers weren't "bad" when she thought she >was Jewish > >
"when I was growin' up if we wanted a jacuzzi we had to fart in the tub!"
56. "Man I heard that shit driving to work, almost cut the car off and " In response to Reply # 7
and walked right out onto the highway. Couldn't fucking take that shit.
"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard
According to a 1990 profile of Tirico in the Syracuse Post-Standard, “because of his dark skin and ethnic features, Tirico says, most people assume he’s black. But he’s seen pictures of his father, his father’s mother, and his father’s sister, all of whom are white.”
But then I grew up around Sicilians and yeah comparatively they are dark
~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
64. "Slight but of resonance?" In response to Reply # 59
Bass?
I saw it in her hips as well But yes could be me and her age she's in her thirties now and filled out ~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
48. "Hilarious! TF was her mom thinking?????!!?!???" In response to Reply # 0
Like her mom knows she was taking pipe-n-circumstance from a black man, knows she was jewish and her man was jewish.
She just crossed her fingers and hoped no one would notice??? Like how the fuck did she go thru that and just be like "oh well!". ______________________________________________________________________________
cscpov.blogspot.com
"There's a fine line between persistence and foolishness..." -unknown
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79554 posts
Mon Mar-23-15 09:03 PM
55. "I used to work for a university in rural KY" In response to Reply # 48
The football players would come for a year, creep in the corn fields and leave behind a baby or 2 before flunking out or transfering..
The college was frustrated because there were all these Obama babies who would check white when they enrolled. They were raised by white grandparents and always identified as white and really believed that shit.
58. "looking at her pictures as a kid" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Mar-23-15 09:16 PM by SHAstayhighalways
it seems obvious because we know the story before watching but so many italian, jewish, latino and such people look similarly and we don't call THEM black despite whatever african roots may be present.
i do concede however that she looks a lot 'blacker' as a grown up. but i feel it was probably pretty easy for her to pass the way she looked especially if the non-biological dad is part sicilian.
60. "I love how the black kids at school were like " In response to Reply # 0
"Um, girl you black" If there is a speck of darkness black folks will see it and call it out. ___________________________________________________________
this one guy i'd see around the more i saw him the more i was convinced he was black especially since he kept his head shaved and so did his brother. found his fb page and lo and behold his daddy was black. i was like I KNEW IT!
97. "Damn, I've never heard that one before" In response to Reply # 88 Tue Mar-24-15 10:26 PM by Sarah_Bellum
That's crazy. Hired for inherent negro spotting abilities. I just imagine firms pulling a random black person off the street to smoke out passing negros for $50. Dave from accounting sweating hard because he skipped his conk appointment last week and his are roots coming in... looking like this... http://askmeaboutmyhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/modern-day-conk.jpg but lighter
>That's crazy. Hired for inherent negro spotting abilities. >I just imagine firms pulling a random black person off the >street to smoke out passing negros for $50. Dave from >accounting sweating hard because he skipped his conk >appointment last week and his are roots coming in... >looking like this... >http://askmeaboutmyhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/modern-day-conk.jpg >but lighter > >___________________________________________________________ > > >DJTB YOMM
61. "She did a really great job on this!" In response to Reply # 0
And man her mom is a trip
But BUT It reminds me of all family secrets(abuse, infidelity, homosexuality etc etc)and people go silent That silence is SO huge And damaging ~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
65. "Oh and her ex and husband fine lol" In response to Reply # 0
~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
87. "This is my friend's story almost verbatim" In response to Reply # 0
We grew up together in Nigeria. In the heart of "black Africa"...lol She was half white but did not "know" till she was 17.
I always thought she looked mixed but I had to accept the weak explanation I was force-fed i.e. Her grandmother was an albino.
Its not uncommon for Igbo people to occasionally have "lighter" complexion but her loose curls was highly unusual . We'd go swimming and her hair would not nap up...lol...it bugged me. When she later told me she found out she actually had a white biological father, I wanted to shout "I knew it!"
101. "damn white people will believe anyt..." In response to Reply # 87
no wait lol
folks don't seem to understand its across the board this type of imma lie and folks just won't looks too deep into it to not cause waves esp family ~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
90. "just saw this and a couple of things" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Mar-24-15 08:49 PM by double negative
1. she looks black as HELL even growing up she looked black as fuck
1a. or at least puerto rican
2. her dad looked kinda black-like when he was young
3. is it me or is this REALLY just a film about a woman dealing the idea that her parents are human beings and the long effects of divorce and infidelity? i mean, if a black person wasnt involved, this would have just been a doc about that.
4. i love how black people can instantly call out other black people by just a bit
5. c'mon lets not be brand new about that hair line, i knew what she meant
6. I was SUPER surprised she ended up with a brother. I was expecting a Chad or Brad which kinda does happen a lot for women in her lane
7. is it me or was even dancing with a bit of flavor at a her bat mitzvah?
8. now that she has aged a bit she looks really fucking black as HELL
And how the whole continuing to cover up and stay silent and not communicate Man MAN it was painful to watch definitely not this secret in particular This is across the board family secrets Infidelities, abuse, bigamists, adoptions, homosexuality etc etc etc That silence is soooo heavy
And her mom saying to would have KEPT the secret if she could gave And never told 0_o Wild ~~~~ When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries. ~~~~ You cannot hate people for their own good.
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