In June 2005, local author William A. James, Sr. released his most recent book, "Living Under the Weight of the Rainbow." Tableau interviewed James about his writing career, perspective on African-American issues and experiences as a black student at the University.
James currently resides in Ruckersville, Va. He holds an Associate degree from Piedmont Virginia Community College, as well as a B.A. in American Social History and an M.A. in African-American studies from Virginia State University.
James also briefly studied at the University but did not finish his graduate work. He maintains that his book, "The Skin Color Syndrome," a collection of cogent essays that deals with problems surrounding skin color representation in the African-American community, serves as a dissertation of his studies.
The title of his most recent book, "Living Under the Weight of the Rainbow," comes from his thesis that the black race is stratified based upon the lightness of one's skin, with darker-skinned blacks at the bottom of the perceived intellectual spectrum.
"[Black people] don't love themselves and don't know how to respect themselves. All of that was beaten out of us during slavery and our Jim Crow existence in America," James said.
He is frustrated with what he sees as a serious and fundamental problem in the black community.
"During my educational process, I saw problems that I couldn't deal with and couldn't understand. Like, for instance, I knew that black people put face value on straight hair and light skin," James said.
"Living" tells the story of Abe, a black male born in central Virginia during the late 1940s. The book details his struggle growing up in a community that didn't believe he could amount to anything because of his dark skin and his determination to break that racial mold.
"No one told that little dark-skinned guy that he could do more things than sports, music or act a fool in class," James said, noting that the novel is more or less autobiographical.
"At one point in my life, I felt like that. From 16 years old to about 21, I felt worthless," James said.
James explained that many of the incidents in the books were influenced by his personal experiences growing up. He recalled how his grandmother and school teachers -- all African-American themselves -- encouraged his lighter-skinned relatives and friends to make something of themselves and "save the rest of us," while discounting any potential James and the other darker-skinned children might have had.
"[Many professors] wanted to convince me not to go to U.Va.
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