Love in the Congo

by: "Yo Adrienne" Vantreese

Our English class recently read the book, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. The book details a family's journey to the Congo thanks to their wannabe missionary father, Nathan. In reality the mission is a flop. Nathan actually turns more people to their statues and idols than to Jesus. However, Africa becomes a part of all their lives; for Leah quite literally. Leah, one of their daughters, ends up marrying one of the natives. Imagine that! A good southern girl married to a black, African man. Their marriage has its ups and downs, goods and bads. This raises the question: was it worth it?

        Segregation is a thing of the past. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt right? Yet interracial marriages are still looked down upon. Such is the case with Leah and her husband, Anatole. Leah can wear their clothes, speak their language like a pro, but when her skin is revealed, people look away. A couple walking together may never get a second thought, but when the couple is seen to be mixed, people take another look. This can lead Leah to feel utterly helpless.

  redneck segregationists  http://segregation-opportunity-race.tumblr.com/

        Speaking of helpless, let's talk about that. It felt like Anatole was arrested more times than Snoop Dog in the 90's. Where does this leave Leah? Alone, that’s where. What is a woman, a white woman in Africa at that, to do? She can make friends, hit up her neighbors for help, but in the end she is still a white woman married to a black man. Was it worth it? Questions like this whirl in her mind as she lays in bed, alone; when she gets yet another stare in the market. Would life have been easier back home?

Malcolm X

         Yet, it doesn’t matter. Leah was ready for a fight when she married Anatole. Their differences only strengthen their declaration that it’s ok for a white woman to fight for freedom, because she is just as much a citizen of that country as any black woman. Malcolm X once said, “…when you are dealing with humanity as a family there’s no question of integration… it’s just one human being marrying another human being…”

          So was it worth it? Was the marriage affected at all by their races? The answer is yes, it was affected. Leah and Anatole each suffered. They were looked down upon, they struggled, but didn’t they expect that in the beginning? To answer whether it was worth it, that answer is also yes. In the end, after they had gone through so much, all they could do was smile and show them they’re happy. Doesn’t that make it sweeter in the end anyway?