It was 1980 and Scott and Barb were off to a fresh start. They were newly married and leaving behind crumbling Philadelphia for up-and-coming Atlanta. Scott’s Jewish middle class upbringing prepared him for, well, living a Jewish middle class life, not that he had given it much thought. Job? Check (although as a modestly paid artist, not a doctor). House? Check. Baby? Well...uh...sure, why not? Sweet little Rachel was born and after nearly a year it seemed the whole world but Scott came to recognize the obvious. Then Barb confessed: she’d had an affair with a black work colleague.
Their daughter was black! Biracial!
His world was suddenly turned upside down. There was no protocol for this! Does he keep his marriage and family together? How does he tell family and friends and what will they think? In Living Black and White, Scott is forced to confront self-deception, racism, and what it means to be a father. This is a finished graphic memoir that combines the artistic sensibilities of Craig Thompson with the humor and honesty of Roz Chast, and faces the issues of race, family and marriage that are more relevant today than ever.