Gregory in Life on the Color Line Assessment

A Biopsychosocial Assessment of Gregory from Life on the Color Line
Introduction
Gregory Williams was ten years old before he realized his own black heritage. He was a self-described “white boy” whose father, Buster, had led him to believe he was half-Italian. It was not true: Buster was half-African American, and when Gregory’s parents separated and Buster took Gregory and his brother Mike with him back to Buster’s family’s town in an African American neighborhood, Gregory realized the truth of his heritage: he himself was not “white” but rather a quarter African-American. Gregory went from being a star student and star athlete as a “white boy” to being prejudiced against by schools and athletics directors because of his African American heritage. His biology played a part in his psychosocial development—but never to his detriment, as he grew up to be a successful leader in his own right. Instead, Gregory’s biopsychosocial background made him more determined than ever to accomplish the high goals he set for himself. This paper will provide a biopsychosocial assessment of Gregory Williams from the book Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black.
Identifying Information
When the book begins, Gregory is a boy of 10. He is entering into middle school. He is “white” by every objective measure: he has fair skin, brown hair, Caucasian features, and his language and diction are patterned after commonplace Caucasian mannerisms. His current situation with regards to his home life however is troubling and hard for Gregory: his parents are separated and he and his younger brother Mike are going to live with their father Buster in an African American neighborhood. The reason for this is that Buster is half African American. Gregory and Mike are thus socially speaking African American by blood. While their features do not reveal this genetically, their heritage is evident from their father’s background and family. Gregory, Mike and Buster move in with Buster’s sister and her husband—Gregory’s aunt and uncle: they are African American and not very well off and soon the tension escalates as Gregory’s uncle contends that Gregory and Mike are too much for him to handle. The unrest in the home life continues.
Buster is also an alcoholic and has trouble maintaining a job which makes the living environment difficult for Gregory. He and his brother need stability and shelter as well as nourishment, but Buster is unable to provide all of this on his own, as he has no job and has a drinking problem. Gregory and his brother are sent to live with Miss Dora, who is an elderly lady who attends the same church as Gregory’s aunt. The only other option for the boys is to go live in an orphanage, and living with Miss Dora seems to make more sense for everyone. Besides, she is willing to look after them, though she only makes $25 a week, which is not enough to provide for three people let alone two young, growing boys. Buster offers to supplement her income with whatever extra money he comes by, which is usually not much. He meanwhile goes to live with his own mother. Miss Dora looks after Gregory and his brother.
Gregory works hard in middle school and is a model student. He enjoys using his intellect and has a great love for learning as well as for sports. He plays basketball and enjoys the competitive spirit. When he tries out for the school basketball team in high school, he earns his way onto it and plays well for the team. However, when the team’s coaches learn that he is part African American, he is demoted and moved down from the team. This causes Gregory a great deal of disappointment, but he does not allow this unfortunate circumstance to make him depressed. Instead, he throws himself into his school work and becomes very passionate about history. As one window closes on him in terms of athletics because of prejudice within the school system, another opens for him in the academic world.
Gregory initially struggles with the reality that he is “colored” once it is revealed to him, but he gradually learns to accept his heritage and this fuels his desire to learn more about history. History becomes a way for him to understand his place better. He also discovers that he has a special knack for it and can make sense of the larger evolution of historical events and what they mean. His brother, however, struggles with his identity and gets into trouble as he grows, taking more after his father’s reckless ways than after Gregory’s conscientious attempt to be disciplined and be successful. Nonetheless, it is not easy for Gregory, as psychologically he tries to grapple with the newfound revelation that his part African American: “No! I answered, still refusing to believe. I’m not colored, I’m white! I look white! I’ve always been white! I go to ‘whites only’ schools, ‘whites only’ movie theaters, and ‘whites only’ swimming pools!” (Williams 33).
Risk
Gregory’s risk is that he will succumb to intense pressures of two different racialized environments—on the one hand, the pressures from “whites only” environments and on the other hand, the pressures from the “colored” environment. Neither environment wants to accept him as one of their own. They judge either on appearances or on genetic records. The prejudices extend from both sides and it is difficult for Gregory to adjust or to know how or where he is to fit in. If he looks at a “white girl” after being outed as “colored” he is reprimanded. If he dates a girl whose skin color is darker than his own, he is reprimanded. Society does not know how to treat him and the risk is that he will lash out and become depressed, anti-social, or a delinquent like his little brother and like his father.
Mental Status Observations
Considering his circumstances, Gregory’s mental status is rather well-adjusted. He remains disciplined and focused and appreciative of the sacrifices that others make for him, such as Miss Dora’s sacrifice in raising him and his brother through the difficult middle years. Miss Dora is not a blood relative but rather a kindly woman who lives alone and wants to help. Her graciousness has a positive impact on Gregory and she provides a strong support for him and his mental health resonates with her warmth and kindness.
He also has a strong inclination to excel in school and he believes in what his father tells him, that he can do anything no matter what. He appreciates supportive comments like these from his father and draws courage and strength from those who show him kindness, positive endorsement, and good will. While he faces mental challenges from trying to navigate a racist world where he is neither accepted as white nor as black, he struggles with his emotions from time to time, but his focus on academics helps him to maintain a centered and stable core within himself.
Gregory is often discouraged by his surroundings and the poverty in which he finds himself living with Miss Dora, but every time he thinks about quitting school or giving up on life, he reconsiders: he remembers the sacrifices that people like Miss Dora and even his father, have made for him, and his sense of appreciation for their sacrifices for his sake compels him to keep at his studies.
Diagnosis
Gregory’s unique biopsychosocial background has placed him in an unlikely setting. As a boy who by all signs and outward characteristics should be viewed as a Caucasian, he experiences prejudice from other Caucasians who know of his African American heritage. At the same time, some African Americans are uncomfortable with his “whiteness” and do not accept him as one of their own. The fact that his own parents have separated adds further tension to his life, causing him social problems that result in his having to live with a woman who is not related to him but who is kind enough to want to raise him. What Gregory requires in order to cope with his environment is strong support, including individual and family therapy.
Goals
Goals for Gregory should consist of both short and long-term objectives. Short-term objectives should focus on meeting with Gregory once a week with a counselor who can provide therapy both for Gregory individually and for Gregory and his brother and father all together so that they can receive familial support. A once-a-week session should be satisfactory in helping Gregory and his family to meet short-term objectives that help them navigate their personal, social, and psychological issues.
The long-term objective should be for Gregory to remain committed and focused to his studies as he seeks to grapple with his identity as part-Caucasian and part-African American. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a suitable intervention for Gregory as it will help him to identify triggers for negative thoughts and behaviors and to cultivate positive responses to these triggers so that he can keep from getting sidetracked or sidelined by them.
Gregory does not demonstrate much of a risk of harm to himself or to others and therefore the CBT intervention during individual sessions and the family therapy intervention during family sessions should be primarily focused on helping Gregory and his family to identify positive goals in their lives that they want to work towards and then assisting them with a plan or course of action that will enable them to achieve these objectives routinely and consistently.
Regulating feelings of despair and isolation are also important for Gregory, and these should be addressed in the two interventions provided for Gregory and his family. The short-term objective in this area should be for Gregory to demonstrate an ability to soothe himself during the individual sessions, and the long-term objective for this area should be for Gregory to demonstrate more control over his passion and not take dejection or rejection or criticism too harshly.
Instead, he should apply his passion to school work and to the studies that he loves. His family should report on how Gregory is making advancements in this area and the objective will be seen as reached if Gregory’s father and his brother both report that Gregory is doing better about pouring his passion into his studies and focusing his emotions and feelings and placing them in academic pursuits where this type of focus will pay off down the road with big rewards. This goal will also help to give Gregory sufficient direction in his life as he moves into adulthood and attempts to find a career in education, following after his father’s passion as a lover of learning. With this help, Gregory will overcome his minor issues and become a success.
References
Williams, G. (1996). Life on the Color Line. New York, NY: Penguin.