Separate Pasts: Growing Up White in the Segregated South is an award-winning novel written by Melton A. McLaurin that delves into the 1950s era where racism was evident around every corner. McLaurin honestly explores the relationships he had with his white peers and with African Americans during his childhood in the American South. Throughout the book, McLaurin discusses how segregated the small town of Wade was and how blacks would never be considered equal to whites, regardless of their hard work or honesty. I believe McLaurin adequately demonstrates that Wade was a city entirely divided over thoughts of racism and segregation, and how those thoughts affected the people of that time, and how McLurin came to see those ideas. What we see coming out of this period is a dark stain on American society as we know it, a time when a group of individuals believed they held superior power in all aspects of life and demanded that, because they hold that power, this group required to be treated better than the other group of individuals, African Americans. The belief of white people in this small town of Wade is the very definition of racism. But among all this, a young McLaurin, McLurin found himself in a difficult situation as a child when a needle accident caused his thoughts to enter those of the older Caucasian population of the town of Wade. McLaurin knew from a very young age that this whole view of racism and stereotyping was very wrong, "It wasn't right and I knew it, and I found that knowledge quite annoying" (p. 98), but he couldn't help but change his opinion slightly when he was playing basketball with a group of black and white children. The... middle of paper......ism and segregation, is what will allow any form of society to reach its maximum potential. But the fear was not evident in those who challenged the issue, Betty Jo, Street, Jerry and Miss Carrie. They approached the issue in different ways, whether simply by living or a calculated attempt to change an individual's perspective. McLurin gave his perspective on the reality of segregation in the South, in the town of Wade, and how it was sort of a status quo for the town. The memories of his childhood and early adulthood, the people he met, those individuals each held a key in the way they influenced the thoughts the young McLurin had about this issue, and perhaps helped unlock a way to challenge the problem and make the future generation aware of the dark spot on society, which will enable greater growth and maximum potential in the coming years.