The Blacker the Berry · Chapter
Part II: Harlem explained
Emma Lou awakens after a brief affair with John, reflecting on her first five weeks in Harlem.
What happens
Emma Lou awakens after a brief affair with John, reflecting on her first five weeks in Harlem. She visits an employment agency and then the real estate office of Angus and Brown, where she is politely but firmly turned away for a job. Walking the streets of Harlem, she confronts her own color prejudice and the harsh realities of her new life.
Themes in this chapter
Colorism and Intraracial Prejudice
Emma Lou is acutely aware of her dark skin and faces rejection from lighter-skinned individuals, such as the secretaries at Angus and Brown and the street taunt 'I don't haul no coal.'
Self-Hatred and Identity
Emma Lou's constant self-criticism about her skin color and hair reveals deep internalized prejudice and a struggle with her own identity.
The Search for Belonging
Emma Lou's move to Harlem is an attempt to find a place where she fits in, but she continues to feel alienated and judged.
Characters to notice
- Emma Lou Morgan
Emma Lou reflects on her affair with John, her move to Harlem, and her job search. She is self-conscious about her dark skin and struggles with feelings of rejection and belonging.
- John
John is the man Emma Lou had a brief two-night affair with. She ends the relationship, feeling he is not her type.
- Grace Giles
Grace is the fair-skinned secretary at Angus and Brown who dismisses Emma Lou from the job interview.
- Mr. Brown
Mr. Brown is one of the partners at the real estate firm; he declines to hire Emma Lou.
Key passages
“She was always trying to emphasize those things about her that seemed, somehow, to atone for her despised darkness, and she never faced the mirror without speculating upon how good-looking she might have been had she not been so black.”
Emma Lou constantly tries to highlight features that compensate for her dark skin, and every time she looks in the mirror, she wonders how attractive she would be if she were lighter.
This passage illustrates Emma Lou's internalized colorism and self-hatred.
“She must get the kind of job she wanted in order to show those people in Boise and Los Angeles that she had been perfectly justified in leaving school, home, and all, to come to New York.”
Emma Lou feels she must find a good job to prove to her family and acquaintances back home that her decision to move to New York was the right one.
This reveals Emma Lou's need for validation and her fear of failure.
“Emma Lou noticed the powdered smoothness of their fair skins and the marcelled waviness of their shingled brown hair. Were they sisters? Hardly, for their features were in no way similar. Yet that skin color and that brown hair—.”
Emma Lou observes the secretaries' light skin and styled hair, noting that despite their different features, their similar coloring makes them seem alike.
This highlights the premium placed on light skin and European features in Harlem's job market.