Feeling like an outsider

Somehow I missed the book, “Outsider: Stories of Growing Up Black in the Adirondacks,” when it was published in 2023. Author Alice Paden Green passed away earlier this year at age 84. I’m sorry I never had the opportunity to meet her or listen to her speak.

Her memoir provides insight into an underappreciated niche in our region, that of growing up as part of a minority, non-indigenous population, in an area that was — and remains — primarily Caucasian. Sally Svenson’s “Blacks in the Adirondacks” came out in 2017 and raised awareness about racial issues many of us had not adequately considered. Green’s memoir adds a more personal impact to the story.

Green’s father relocated to Witherbee, New York, as part of what’s now called the Great Migration. Iron mining offered jobs and opportunity, but for one of only two African-American families in a small Adirondack village, life could be very constricting. The author tells us how local residents were generally cordial enough to her family, but stopped short of truly welcoming them. Interestingly, many different ethnic groups managed to meld socially, but African Americans remained excluded.

There’s the usual adolescent angst, including a crush on actor James Dean, and plenty of anecdotes from time in Witherbee and later during college years. Sports and hunting served as outlets for boys, but fewer options existed for young girls. School proved to be a saving grace at times, though there were also situations in which racism presented itself.

Alice did well in school and quickly became respected for her intelligence and work ethic. She led the theater club yet was never allowed to actually perform in a show. Her brother was elected king for his high school prom but couldn’t have a date because of the strong community feelings against interracial couples. There was always a feeling of being somehow apart.

One specific event crystallized a decision about her future. When she and a white friend were hired for summer resort jobs, the friend was assigned attractive live-in quarters for the season, whereas Green was told she’d have to sleep in the barn. Both girls objected and eventually quit. From that point on, Green determined her life would be devoted to activism.

I’ll concede the writing itself could have used some polishing and more editing. There’s also a little too much repetition. The book is most successful when she narrates specific relationships, such as those with her college friend Stephanie and a longtime Witherbee neighbor named Maggie.

Nonetheless, her story is well worth reading. Readers should understand that life in a beautiful mountain region might be idyllic for some, but not if you’re part of a very visible minority.

Green devoted much of her life to activism and advocacy, focusing on racial issues, poverty and prison reform. She lived to see increased tolerance and support for a more diverse population enjoying the North Country. Reading her memoir gives hope and also an understanding that more remains to be done.