The "passers" who loathe their own race

The obvious difference in the lives of Clare and Irene did not seem to be shocking to me at first. However, once I reached Chapter Three and read the encounter of Clare, Gertrude, Irene, and Clare's husband I was simply appalled. I almost felt bad reading it because it just seemed too outrageous the way that these people talked about race and to one another.

I do not understand how this way of "passing" could ever be permitted by African Americans. The African Americans that I know of are proud of their race; what would they think if they read this? The women speak of their children and Clare and Gertrude express that they were fearful that their children would be "too dark." I cannot imagine what would have happened if Clare's daughter would have been a dark child. I can imagine that her own mother would have resented her. And her father may have disowned them both. Clare's husband is the worst one to me. He is introduced to the reader by coming into the visit greeting his wife, "Hello, Nig" in a way that seems so disrespectful and must be hurtful to Clare because she actually is African American. No wonder she felt the need to pass, because it seems as if all of the people in her life hate being black. The husband goes on to say that he HATES negroes, and ironically, he is married to one. He also goes on to describe stereotypes of African Americans, and distastefully so.

Larsen did a fabulous job displaying the types of people in this time period who rejected their own race, she kept me glued to the text and provided shocking moments among the characters. Reading this novel definitely sparked some anger in me, I wonder if that is what she intended?