Into White
Author Randi Pink offers something of a disclaimer with her debut novel.
“It’s ok to squirm in your seat when you’re flipping the page on this book,” says Pink. “It’s ok to feel uncomfortable. It’s ok to put it down a minute and catch your breath.”
That’s because her young adult book is a piercing tale examining race among teens. It’s called “Into White” and comes out Tuesday.
Randi Pink is a Birmingham native. (Full disclosure: Pink works at WBHM). Her story follows Toya, an African-American student at a predominately white high school in Alabama. She prays to become white and it happens. Pink, who is black, talked about the book with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager.
Author Randi Pink’s debut novel is “Into White.”
The inspiration for the book:
“Maybe around 13, 14, I started to question whether it would be a little bit easier to not look the way I look. I’m not exactly sure if I specifically wanted to be in any specific category, but I do know that my mind started to wander. I went to a predominately white school…It’s a shameful thought. Even as a 13, 14-year-old child, I knew that that’s not something I should have been considering. So I buried that.”
Concerns over how it would be received:
“That is something that I had to push down and push to the back of my mind. How is this thing going to be received? How am I going to be perceived as a black woman writing this? I had to hush up those voices if I was going to write something authentic…I knew that I was opening myself up for a fair amount of criticism. And I’m ok with that.”
What she wants to book to do:
“What I do want is for the book to initiate a conversation about the shrapnel we’re dealing with in this post-forced segregation society. What are the real effects psychologically on families, not just black families, all of us? And if it starts some conversation about that, then I’m good.”
An extended interview with Randi Pink:
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted U.S. political parties, memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of Jan. 6, 2021 told investigators someone needed to "speak up" for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen, prosecutors said Sunday.
Chinese military stages drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales, and a statement by Japan's prime minister saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan.
Trump and Netanyahu to meet in Florida at a crucial moment for the Gaza ceasefire
President Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to look for ways to speed up the peace process, as Israel's leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.
‘Bomb cyclone’ forecasted to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerous travel
A 'bomb cyclone' is intensifying severe winter weather for millions of people across the U.S. The system is expected to knock out power and disrupt holiday travel.
Russia sends 3 Iranian satellites into orbit, report says
The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites on Sunday from a launchpad in eastern Russia.
Viral global TikToks: A twist on soccer, Tanzania’s Charlie Chaplin, hope in Gaza
TikToks are everywhere (well, except countries like Australia and India, where they've been banned.) We talk to the creators of some of the year's most popular reels from the Global South.
