by A. J. Baime
First published 2022
Walter White stands at a crossroads that defines his entire existence. Born with light skin and straight hair to mixed-race parents, he can move between two worlds that remain violently divided in early twentieth-century America. At home in Harlem, he faces the restrictions of Jim Crow laws and leads the growing NAACP. But when he travels south as a white reporter, he gains access to the most dangerous stories of his time. White infiltrates communities where Black Americans have been murdered, gathering evidence that white journalists cannot obtain and Black journalists cannot survive to collect. His double life grows more precarious with each investigation. One wrong word or gesture could expose him to the same violence he documents. As he rises from unknown activist to become Black America's most visible leader, White navigates the impossible tension between his public role and his secret work. His story reveals the personal cost of living between racial identities in a country that demands citizens choose sides.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: double-life, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Harlem, America
Period: Early 20th Century
400 pages · Kindle Edition · Mariner Books
Content warnings: racism