LIfe on the Color Line was about a child who grew up with the knowledge of thinking that he was white but was really black. He experienced several difficulties throughout his life because of this. Gregory Williams was forced to choose between black and white friends. Gregory's father was in the picture but never really set any good examples and his mother left him at a young age. Growing up with someone else being the mother figure in his life was very difficult for him. Miss Dora treated him and his brother as though they were her own flesh and blood. Even with all the bad experiences and wrong decision making, in the end Gregory completed the novel with a very successful life. He became married, had two children of his own and had a degree in law. I did not give the book 5 stars because throughout the book it talked about his brother's life as well as his. Towards the end of the book, they never spoke on how he became blind in very much detail or how his life ended like they talked about with Gregory.

Very few people in America could have imagined a life like Greg Williams had. His life and experiences were so unique that there couldn't have been a more appropriate title than "Life on the Color Line." The blatant racism he encounters all through his childhood and teenage years while trying to just grow-up and be a normal kid is something that American should be ashamed of when remembering this time in our history. Anyone that thinks racism wasn't THAT bad back then should read this book, reading about his perspective should definitely change their mind.

Greg started growing up as a young white boy in Virginia. His life was pretty normal for him and his "white" family at that time. His father successfully passed as white, even though he had black blood running through his veins. He had a couple of successful business ventures, the most notable of which was a booming cafe/diner, which of course adherred to the laws of segregation. Greg's mother was white in the true sense of the term, and she seemed to care for her children deeply as any mother should.

Everything was perfect for Greg and his family until misfortune hits and the veil is pulled off the charade of his father's false life. In a poetic justice type of moment the father's life in Virginia is devastated and shaken literally back to his roots. It looks initially like Greg and his brother Mike will stay with their mother in Virginia, but they have to tag along with their father back to Indiana where all 3 of their lives are changed forever.

Back in Muncie, Indiana, the book almost splits into 3 separate interesting stories: Greg's life, his brother Mike's life, and the father's. Their struggles bring a new meaning to tough times. Greg and his brother now have to blend into the black community which isn't easy, all while they are summarily rejected by the white community, and most painful of all an apparent rejection by their mother.

There are a lot of negatives in their lives now dealing with their living situation, and ... people which are almost laughable. One situation that stands out are the two school officals that get upset at his expressing any interest in white girls, but then the same people are angry when he is marching with a black girl during graduation. However, through all the negativity there is one person that shows how powerful Christian love can be as she adopts them and tries to keep them on the right path.

Greg and Mike's experiences and ongoing fight with racism hardly let you put the book down. I couldn't wait to see how they were going to handle each new situation. Once in a while there is a true story comes along that rivals any fiction, this is one of them!

This is one of those stories that stay with you, long after you read it. It is a book that everyone should read - no matter his or her age or background. Gregory Howard Williams writes a riveting story of his childhood experience, when society sees him as a White, then black person.

The personalities in this memoir are touching, from Williams's father who was unable to deal with demons of his own, to the author and the rest of his family. Most especially, I loved reading about Miss Dora, the elderly woman who opened her heart and home to the author and his brother and played an important part in helping Mr. Williams become successful despite all the odds against him.

Gregory Howard Williams has led a harsh, mesmerizing, sorrowful, incredible, yet triumphant life on the color line.

Fafa Demasio