Flygirl

**Flygirl** by Sherri L. Smith

All Ida Mae Jones wants to do is fly. Her daddy was a pilot, and years after his death she feels closest to him when she's in the air. But as a young black woman in 1940s Louisiana, she knows the sky is off limits to her, until America enters World War II, and the Army forms the WASP - Women Airforce Service Pilots. Ida has a chance to fulfill her dream if she's willing to use her light skin to pass as a white girl. She wants to fly more than anything, but Ida soon learns that denying one's self and family is a heavy burden, and ultimately it's not what you do but who you are that's most important.

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**Meet Sherri L. Smith** **History of the Wasps** **WASPS - Women Airforce Service Pilots** media type="file" key="World War II woman pilot tells her story.mp4" align="center"
 * Definition of Passing**

By Nadra Kareem Nittle, About.com Guide

Definition: African Americans and other minorities were historically discriminated against in the U.S., so the fair-skinned offspring of whites and people of color often pretended to be white to take advantage of the opportunities that would've otherwise been denied to them.

This practice is known as passing or passing for white. It often required individuals to leave their hometowns and family members behind to ensure that they'd never come across anyone who knew their true racial origins.

Books such as Imitation of Life, remade into two Hollywood films, and Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man tackle the subject of passing.

Also Known As: Crossing the color line.

Examples: In her novel Passing, author Nella Larsen writes about a fair-skinned black woman who leaves her black neighborhood and acquaintances behind so she can disconnect from her mixed-race roots and pretend to be completely white. The woman even fools her husband into thinking that she has no black ancestry.

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Passing for White

Living a Double Life **Passing: How posing as white became a choice for many black Americans**