Ruth Anne King said she grew up in a household with white racist grandparents who despised the color of her skin.
“I had to decide pretty early on that either I was going to be Black or I was going to be loved,” King said. “And [my grandparents] didn't say ‘Black.’ They used the N word.”
King said not being able to be Black growing up caused trouble because her identity was “all haywire,” but she has since found her identity.
When I was 35 years old, I became Black
King finding her identity as a biracial Black woman is reflected in her memoir title When I was thirty-five years old, I became Black.
“You should see the looks I get when I do tell people the title of the book,” King told WGLT.
The author started writing the book in 1995 and got it published in 2023.
King said the book took so long to write because the ideas did not all come out at once.
“I had to do some more living and had to figure out some answers to some questions,” King said.
One of those answers that King found was “the cure for racism.”
“It wasn't easy to say that at first, but I'm going to double down on it. I am finding a way to teach a compassionate response to racial hostility,” King said.
King learned that compassionate response when she was a child living in a house with people who could not embrace her because of the color of her skin. “And I'm now able to actually teach the cure to racism.”
King said people have asked her if she is suggesting to forgive those who are afraid of diversity.
“I'm not, I'm suggesting that we love them,” King said.
Stories in the music
King is no stranger to writing about her own life. She would write to find solace and then hear a melody that goes along with the words.
She has been writing about her experiences for decades through songs; and has only recently realized the songs are about herself.
“I hadn't put it together yet, honest to goodness,” said King.
King referred to her song In Secret, “And you know, I remember writing that and thinking, ‘Who is this to?’ I wasn't dating anybody, it wasn't romantic, but the song came out completely. Yeah, it was about the rejection, the unrequited love that I got just from being born Black.”
King has five albums that are out and available for listening, and said she hopes people take her music personally.
“And let it be for them what it needs to be for them, not my story, but their own story,” said King.
Ruth Anne King will be at the Bloomington Public Library in the Community Room at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to give the audience a “smorgasbord” of inspiration. The night will include storytelling and music. King’s memoir and CDs will be available for purchase.
