Barack Obama waking up and hearing Gramps ( Grandfather) and Toot (Grandmother) arguing. Toot wants Gramps to drive him to work that morning because she was bothered by a “Black fella”. Obama was disturbed by such attitude but tries to understand Toot reason for feeling upset. While Gramps was not taking it likely for Toot to make a big issues of the incidence because this time the person was a Black man. He very much knew how Obama will react to such attitude and the impacts such will make on him and that makes him very sad.
“ You know why she is so scared this time? I’ll tell you why, before you came in, she told me the the fella was black.” Page 88.
Barack showed us that Gramps whispered the words to him. Gramps was quiet upset and sensitive about the situation not because he was not sympathizing with Toot but because he knows she made a big deal of the situation because the fellow was a black man. Gramps was hesitant to tell Barack the real reason he really understood how it would make him feel and he felt sorry he told him. Obama tells how he grew small and old and very sad.
Obama after Gramps told him about the incidence that happened with Toots he grew weary, analyzing the depth of sacrifice and the love his Grandparents showed him and though he would never doubt their intentions for him he could not but worry how “BLACK PERSON” makes his Grandparents so fearful. He turned to Frank one of Gramps long time friends. An African American man who was a well-known poet and knows Gramps well enough.
I believe Obama visited Frank to get a sense of where he belongs. Gramps, Toot and his sister were all white skin and he was a mix of white and black and that left him feeling utterly alone in his world.
