Identity, racial acceptance explored in Waterloo region’s OBOC 2017 pickPosted in Autobiography, Canada, Media Archive, Passing on 2017-09-29 03:31Z by Steven |
Identity, racial acceptance explored in Waterloo region’s OBOC 2017 pick
CBC News
2017-09-27
 Veteran author Wayne Grady is best known for his compelling writing on science, nature and natural history. Now, his first foray in to fiction, Emancipation Day, has become the One Book One Community selection for Waterloo region for 2017. (Don Denton) |
Emancipation Day based on story of Grady’s father who kept black heritage secret for 50 years
Author Wayne Grady spent the first 50 years of his life thinking he was white.
It wasn’t until he began digging through the archives in Windsor, Ont., that he discovered the truth about his father’s heritage. His great-grandfather wasn’t Irish. He was African-American.
“I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under my feet,” Grady told The Morning Edition host Craig Norris.
Working through that revelation is what inspired his first foray into fiction, Emancipation Day; the One Book One Community pick for Waterloo region for 2017.
“That’s kind of why I started working on the novel, to figure out – for myself – how it changed me or how it affected me. And I eventually realized it didn’t really change me at all. I’m still the same person I was before,” he said.
“I think I’ve pretty much decided that it doesn’t mean anything, except what society says it means.”…
Read the entire article here
