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“He wondered if the Judge had mentioned that Hugh was a N*****, or if when you reached Judge Hamilton’s position such subtleties wouldn’t occur to you. And he wondered if Ellen had this latent fear when meeting someone new. With her background, it wouldn’t seem to be something she had to face, yet how could she escape it entirely? The quickening in the eyes, the certain intonation of the voice, the unspoken awareness: you are black. Even if you were brown or beige or lightly sun-tanned.” — Dorothy B. Hughes
He wondered if the Judge had mentioned that Hugh was a N*****, or if when you reached Judge Hamilton’s position such subtleties wouldn’t occur to you. And he wondered if Ellen had this latent fear when meeting someone new. With her background, it wouldn’t seem to be something she had to face, yet how could she escape it entirely? The quickening in the eyes, the certain intonation of the voice, the unspoken awareness: you are black. Even if you were brown or beige or lightly sun-tanned.