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...

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…