Thanks, Barbara. Clemens' little talk with Jean about the color of Mary's skin is hilarious -- and reassuring. On Sun, Mar 28, 2021, 9:26 AM Barbara Schmidt <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > One of the most overlooked and insightful dialogues that Mark Twain > participated in regarding racism is the one he reported to Helene Picard in > a letter dated 26 August 1909 — online at > > http://www.twainquotes.com/picard.html > > He described a conversation with his daughter Jean and her indignation that > he believed the Virgin Mary was a dark-skinned woman. Twain recognized the > unavoidable racism present in all — a psychological tendency to identify > with and prefer “sameness.” > > Following up on the history of how artists tend to portray Christ as > fair-skinned is a book THE COLOR OF CHRIST: THE SON OF GOD & THE SAGA OF > RACE IN AMERICA by Blum and Harvey (Univ. Of North Carolina Press, 2012) > that also references Twain’s dialogue with Jean as well as Hal Bush’s MARK > TWAIN AND THE SPIRITUAL CRISIS OF HIS AGE. > > Barb >