“As I walked home, holding Mommy’s hand while she fumed, I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn't want to be white. My sibling has already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds. My view of the world is not merely that of a black man but that of a black man with something of a Jewish soul” (103), this quote was said by James McBride because when he was younger he didn't want to be seen with his white mother being a black child. He didn't appreciate the color of her skin because he was the only one that had a white mother and he thought that he wasn't the same as everyone else so he was ashamed of her.
James McBride wishes he was one color when he was a child but then he is very happy about it when he is an adult. He grew up being ashamed of his mother and he was afraid of being seen with her. Now he calls himself a black man with a Jewish soul. He also felt sorry for all of those Jews who had to suffer through Anti- Semitism because he was able to somewhat relate to it because he faced discrimination of being black. This quote is an example of flashback because James McBride is going back in time to show his true feelings of his mother when he was a child. He is comparing how he felt then to how he feels now about his mother’s skin color as well as his own.
The quote is significant because we learn that as a child James McBride wanted to be one color but as he got older he didn't mind being bi- racial. James McBride defines himself as a black man with a Jewish soul and this tell us that he is going beyond his skin to show who he really is. He is looking past his appearance but looking at his inner self to define and describe who he truly is. He has the advantage to be open to more than one culture and have a better understanding of what it means to be bi- racial. 
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