Shades of Color

About the Book

How much does one’s color matter? Are we the color we see when regarding ourselves in the mirror, the color others see when they look at us or the color assigned to us by our circumstances of birth? Ally, a slave, has to answer these questions and, ultimately, discover what freedom means.

Much of her story recounts her perilous journey: pursued by slave catchers, enduring cold and hunger, following the North Star. After crossing the Ohio River, safety is not assured because of the Fugitive Slave Act, but she is helped by Underground Railroad “conductors” until she becomes too ill to continue to Canada and freedom.

Ally succeeds in ways she could not foresee to find freedom and love.

About the Author

Growing up in Ohio, Ruth White was fascinated by sites and stories of the Underground Railroad. While pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Kentucky, she discovered how widely cultures can range on either side of a porous border. These influences are in this book. She now lives in Socorro, New Mexico.