Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

“Why had the White Hollywood icon given her fortune to the Black (‘Black’ being the key word) daughters of her costar in a sitcom that first aired almost fifty years ago? Some came right out and asked it, and social media was a cauldron of racist epithets; it was Meghan Markle hysteria times three.”

This passage sets up the central premise of the plot. It also highlights the book’s thematic treatment of racism, particularly the implicit nature of structural racism. The allusion to Meghan Markle provides an example of how racist systems expect Black people to behave in certain ways; if they do not, they may face public ire. In Meghan Markle’s case, she drew scrutiny as a Black woman for marrying a white member of the British royal family.

“Now people from Montana to Rhode Island know you’re Black.”

Elise’s sister says this to her in a joking way, but it highlights the book’s argument that racist systems demand that Black people disavow their own race. In Kitty’s case, this means actually passing as white. In Elise’s case, it means taking steps like straightening her hair and not posting #blacklivesmatter content.

“They wanted Elise’s hair straight and her body stick thin. Publicly, they praised her Blackness, to show their commitment to diversity. Still, they pushed her into roles in which her race was never established, where it didn’t exist, hoping no one would notice.”

Here, the book highlights the hypocrisy of modern racist systems. Elise notes how diversity is openly celebrated but at the same time repressed. This is especially poignant in the Hollywood machine, where so much hinges on appearances. Elise can be Black but not “too Black” if she wants to succeed.

“Mary’s skin was a cloak of acceptability, and Hazel used it to open the front doors of every space where Negro children weren’t allowed.”

This sentence illustrates the fact that being white opens doors—in some cases literally—while being Black closes them. In Mary’s case, in the Jim Crow South, the limitations of being Black are quite literal. However, the book will go on to suggest that even today, structural racism places limits on Black people.

“Just pretend like you’re White. No one will notice.”

Rebecca says these words to Elise when they are children and Elise is worried about being the only Black girl at Girl Scout camp. Rebecca’s words highlight her own racism; she fails to recognize that Elise cannot just shrug off her Blackness, a core part of her identity. This demonstrates that while many racist people would not identify themselves as such because they do not support the Confederacy or the KKK, that does not mean their racism is not damaging.

“This is my sister, Kitty. Kitty Karr.”

These words show Emma introducing Kitty to her friends for the first time and christening Kitty with her new, white Hollywood name. It is the birth of Kitty Karr, the movie star the entire book revolves around. The birth of Kitty will coincide with the (metaphorical) death of Mary, a testament to the painful emotions that accompany Kitty’s passing journey.

“Within her grief was a degree of relief. In the pit of her stomach she knew it was true: being Negro was akin to being a jack-in-the-box. Sometimes the lid opened, and you were able to shine, but eventually, you ended up back inside the darkness of limitation until someone got the notion to open the box again.”

Kitty’s use of the simile comparing being Black to being a jack in the box describes the toxic cycle of systemic racism. Black people get fewer opportunities, so whiteness seems preferable—then, because whiteness is preferable, Black people continue to lose out on opportunities. This is a cycle that Kitty and her Blair House compatriots will seek to break.

“Never get pregnant. Traits skip generations—who knows what the baby will come out looking like.”

This is one of the rules of passing that Emma shares with Kitty. The rule attests to The Implications of Intersectionality and the double dangers that Emma and Kitty face, being not only Black but also women. Pregnancy is an issue a Black man who is passing would not have to face.

“Mary is dead from this moment on. Forget she ever existed.”

Emma says this to Kitty after teaching Kitty the rules of passing. The death of Mary, although metaphorical, parallels the death of a part of Kitty’s identity. Only when Elise publicly announces Kitty’s truth is Kitty able, after death, to reclaim this part of herself.

“‘What’s unlikable about me?’

‘Nothing yet, as long as you follow the rules.’”

This exchange occurs between Emma and Kitty. Emma’s insistence on the importance of following the rules speaks to a truth in racist societies that the book highlights: Black people must follow certain rules, written or unwritten, or risk public ire or even their safety or lives. In the past, these rules were often explicit, such as in Jim Crow laws, but even today, Black people face backlash for speaking or behaving in ways that break the implicit rules of systemic racism. The book cites examples like Colin Kaepernick and Meghan Markle.

“It’s not the law, but they don’t hide their feelings. The pools, beaches—except for the sliver in Santa Monica—Negroes aren’t welcome.”

Here, Emma introduces Kitty to the “Jim Crow” atmosphere of LA. While there aren’t literal Jim Crow laws mandating segregation, de facto segregation persists, nonetheless. This speaks to the book’s argument regarding the deeply ingrained, systemic nature of racism.

“To champion the rights of Negro women, whose burdens were doubled, being Negro and female.”

This is the mission statement of Blair House. The brief line encapsulates the theme of The Implications of Intersectionality. Kitty and her Blair House compatriots are doubly disadvantaged as Black women.

“Everyone realized how vulnerable they were, how insignificant they could become. How beauty sometimes led to tragedy. Some had been jealous of Nina’s glamorous life, but they felt bad about their envy now. The need to possess her, to own her, was the masculine greed that killed her.”

Nina’s death dramatizes the dual dangers that Kitty faces as a Black person and a woman. The emphasis in this quote on “masculine greed” speaks to the way women are continually objectified as possessions. Even Kitty and Nathan’s relationship proves problematic, as epitomized in Nathan’s rape of Kitty.

“Dreams of babies keep me up at night. The drinking puts me to sleep.”

Emma says these words to Kitty. This poignant moment is a reminder of just how much Kitty and her compatriots give up to pass as white—in Emma’s case, motherhood. The Implications of Intersectionality for passing Black women like Kitty and Emma include not only physical danger but also surrendering aspects of their lives that white women can enjoy.

“He already owned her career, and that night, he showed her he thought he owned her too.”

Kitty has this thought after Nathan rapes her. The word choice of Nathan “owning” Kitty parallels the “ownership” of a white person enslaving a Black person. The mention of ownership could also be seen as a nod to the old-fashioned belief that a wife was her husband’s property.

“I’m not here to change the world. I’m here to entertain, and I’m telling you, it won’t make any money.”

Nathan says this to Kitty, demonstrating how capitalism and white people’s unwillingness to be uncomfortable help uphold racist systems. The world Nathan inhabits is comfortable for him, so he has no desire to change it, even if others are suffering. This is how systems of oppression are upheld; the comfortable want to maintain their comfort and have no personal agenda for change. Nathan’s emphasis on money demonstrates the way structural racism and capitalism intertwine.

“Hanes Austen went on to have an illustrious career at Telescope. He never set foot on the lot, but his rudeness (or quirkiness, depending on who you talked to) was excused because rumor said he was a descendent of the famous novelist, Jane.”

Kitty’s choice of pen name, Hanes Austen, is a testimonial to the double discrimination Kitty faces being Black and a woman. To get her script looked at, Kitty adopts the pen name of a person who is male and white. Would people in Hollywood have read the script the same way if they knew it was written by a Black woman? The book suggests that this is doubtful.

“Kitty Karr was in fact the first Colored actress to win an Oscar in a lead role, and nobody would ever know it.”

These words drive home the things that Kitty must give up for fame and fortune. She cannot openly be a mother, just as she cannot openly claim her Oscar win as a Black woman. Ultimately, Elise will right this wrong when she claims Kitty as her grandmother and reveals that Kitty was Black during her own Oscars acceptance speech.

“He was the only one who had ever been free: a White, rich man, he owned everything, just as he’d said. He could go anywhere without restrictions.”

Kitty summarizes the book’s arguments on systemic racism and intersectionality in this thought about Nathan. Nathan has all the freedoms that Kitty lacks. In Kitty’s world, the best she can do is align herself with Nathan by marrying him. The kind of power that Nathan has is simply out of reach in the racist and sexist world that Kitty inhabits.

“This isn’t just Kitty’s story. It’s my grandfather’s too. I have a legal right to it. My grandfather owned his photographs, and I own his estate.”

Jasper says these words to Elise, emphasizing the ways that family legacies can intertwine. One family’s proud legacy could be another family’s shameful legacy. Looking at the big picture, this also has serious implications for US history.

“The safest thing to do is leave her White.”

Sarah says this to Elise, trying to convince Elise not to out Kitty’s secret. The allusion to safety is telling, showing that Sarah recognizes the dangers of raising the race issue. Even in Elise’s modern world, a far cry from Kitty’s past, discussions of race can invite risk.

“I’m not mad at Kitty. I’m mad that she had no choice but to do what she did. I’m mad that her having no choice impacted me in the ways it has. Unleashing this story exposes the White roots that burrow, snake, and choke. I don’t want to be choked.”

Sarah says these words to Elise. Her reference to the “[w]hite roots that burrow, snake, and choke” speaks to a modern kind of white violence. The book shows many instances of violence against Black people, from Hazel’s rape to the murder of Emmett Till. Sarah’s language here of white roots choking her suggests a less literal type of violence.

“Talking about Kitty means we’ll have to talk about my family too. Some of them are no better than the rapists and murderers in the news. If people go digging into Kitty’s history, they’ll find Teddy Lakes.”

Rebecca says these words to Elise, asking her not to unearth Kitty’s secret. These lines speak most strongly to the book’s theme of The Weight of Family Legacy. In Rebecca’s case, unearthing the Lakes family legacy would be an embarrassment. By pressuring Elise to keep silent, Rebecca asks her to uphold the structures of racism that allow people like Rebecca to avoid discomfort by asking Black women like Elise to absorb it.