Gail couldn't understand why her mother always applied makeup before bed. When she asked her about it, she said: "Well, Gail, you never know when you are going to get sick. What if, in the middle of the night, the ambulance would come? You always want to look your best because you would get treated better at the hospital."
Gail felt like something was off, so she decided to dig into her mother's past. And what she discovered sent shivers down her spine.
Strange Behavior
Gail's mother, Alvera, never went out in the sun unless she had a hat on, and she covered her hands with gloves at all times, even while at home. But what worried her the most was the way Alvera treated her parents.
Gail never met her grandfather, and every time she asked her mom about him, she would always say something along the lines of "Oh, I don't know," or "I can't remember."
Searching For Her Grandfather
In 1995, when Gail was already 48 years old, she decided she had had enough of her mother's odd behavior and decided to search for her grandfather's identity.
When she put in the 1900 Louisiana Census records, she saw his name with the letter "B" next to it, which meant black. Confused, Gail contacted the State of Louisiana and requested Alvera's birth certificate.
She Received Her Birth Certificate
She pretended to be her mother on the phone and explained that she had lost her birth certificate. And after a few days, she received the document in the mail.
As Gail was reading her mother's birth certificate, she noticed the letters "col" written under her name. "Col" is an abbreviation for the designation "colored." She couldn't believe what she was reading. There had to be some kind of mistake.
She Couldn't Stop Thinking About It
For over two years, Gail couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen on her mother's birth certificate. What was she hiding from her?
Then, one evening, Gail finally decided to confront Alvera about it. She wasn't prepared for what she was about to find out.
She Confronted Her About It
Gail asked her mother why she was listed as "col" on her birth certificate, to which she replied: "I don't know what birth certificate you have, but mine says I'm white!"
But Gail didn't believe her. She explained to her that she had found some of her other documents as well, such as the Census Records, which had her grandfather listed as black.
Promise Me
Her mother suddenly became very quiet and told Gail something she would never forget.
She looked at her with tears in her eyes and said, "You have to promise me you will never tell anyone until after I die."
Her Dark Secret
After a short pause, Alvera continued, "Because how will I hold my head up with my friends if they know?"
Gail was speechless. Why would she lie to her about being black? But then, Alvera told her something even more strange about her past.
She Was Pretending To Be White
Suddenly, everything made sense: her strange makeup routine, her constant need to wear gloves and a hat outside, and her relationship with her parents.
But why was Alvera pretending to be someone she wasn't?
It Didn't Make Sense
Gail was confused because her mother did look white in real life and her photos. So how was this even possible? How could she be black?
However, Alvera's birth certificate clearly stated that she was black. She explained that her transition into a white woman began when she met Gail's father.
It All Started When She Met Her Husband
Gail's father was white, and he didn't know that Alvera was a black woman. So when they got married, Alvera took on the white race and moved in with him.
That was when she began passing as a white woman. But why did she change her race?
Her Grandfather Was African-American
Alvera also told Gail that she didn't want her to meet her grandparents because her father was African-American and her mother was mixed.
Gail was at a loss for words. Suddenly, she felt like she didn't know who she was anymore.
Her Husband Was The Reason
Alvera was forced to cut her parents off to start a new life with her husband in Ohio. Gail's father was an ordinary white man of his generation whose views on life were quite different from Alvera's.
Alvera knew he would never marry her if she were black, so she had made her decision.
She Kept Her Secret
Gail never told any more about her mother's past, even after she had passed away.
"I know my mother wanted a better life for herself. And the way she saw that was to pass for white. She would have more opportunities for employment and in society in general. To do that, she had to turn her back on her mixed-race heritage and leave her family behind. It was a big sacrifice. She could never live her true authentic self," she said.
She Published A Book
In 2017, Gail finally felt ready to talk about her mother.
She published Alvera's sad story in her book "White Like Her: My Family's Story of Race and Racial Passing."