Melton A. McLaurin is the author of the novel Separate Pasts: Growing Up White in the Segregated South. He grew up in Wade and throughout his writings developed different themes based on his experiences as a boy. The theme that struck me was that of racism and the classism that followed. McLaurin explains how segregation and racism weighs heavily on Wade, and I agree with that, but I found it interesting to understand how African-Americans have classes within the lower classes that whites already place them in. McLaurin was growing up in Wade during the 1940s and 1950s, and this place was the perfect representation of a small, racially segregated Southern town. The community living in Wade believed in racism and both races followed the unspoken “rules” of segregation. One of the rules was that African Americans were not allowed to enter the front door of the house; they always used the back door to enter. Even if they were domestic workers or had to transact business with the homeowner, they had to enter through the back door and would only conduct business on the back porch or perhaps even in the kitchen. Another rule was that African Americans of all ages had to refer to white adults as "mister" and "miss." Additionally, African Americans never entered a building first if there was a white person trying to enter the same place, in some cases they even held the door open for the white person. Most of the homes and businesses of African Americans were located in an area called "The Bottom", this referred to the bottom or border of Wade and even though the community was predominantly black at "The Bottom" it was still not uncommon seeing white families living next to the… middle of paper… the incident with Sam or his affection for Betty Jo could be used to show that he still cared about African Americans but was also superior. Many of Wade's white children had this problem; they felt they had responsibilities to shoulder but still knew how to care and show respect towards African Americans. Wade was like any other small southern town, they had strong racist beliefs and believed they were superior to them but were also confused with their own moral good. In this novel McLaurin does a great job of showing both sides. Obviously there is a strong belief in the social status and hierarchy of whites compared to African Americans, but Wade's people, especially the upper class, still care about African Americans and definitely consider them human beings. It is this attitude that helped secure the rights and freedom of African Americans.