Black Ice

Lorene Cary was a black female in a predominately white male society. She chose to go to a boarding school in hope of becoming someone in the future. By making this choice she had to leave her family and closest friends behind, and the issue of retaining her black heritage arose. Cary wanted to succeed in life and set and example for other young black children to follow, but she didn’t want to sell out and leave her black heritage behind in the process. Through this book we discover how Cary was able to over come the challenges facing her and thrive as a young black female without losing her identity. We also learn what society Cary envisions for black youth. We come to understand that she wants young black children to succeed and not fall through the cracks in the ice ahead of them.
The answer to the challenges facing her is illustrated in the title of the book that records her time at St. Paul's. Black Ice refers to wh...