Growing up white in Washington state, Barbara Hilyer’s dad never told her anything about his family—except that his mother was “crazy.” Ten years after his death, she learned his sister was living in Hawai’i.

Discovering “the family secret” introduced her to the concept of passing, and the complex nature of race and identity. Uncommon in the white world, passing is a familiar concept among African Americans. Meeting her aunt, an African American woman deeply involved in state politics, took Barbara’s life in a new direction, which led her to Hilo, Minneapolis, Washington, DC, and the Deep South—researching the extended family she could never know, and the historic times that defined them.

This story challenges America’s oversimplified view of race and explores how different individuals across generations pursued all available avenues of opportunity to define their lives in a race-conscious society. American history is not white history, although it has been presented that way. The times call for a truth telling.

S. Barbara Hilyer spent her public school teaching career in Ashland, Oregon, where she taught elementary school as well as middle and high school social studies, including American History. She holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership. At almost 70 years old, she spends her time revolving around the Pacific Rim between Portland, British Columbia, and Hilo. In her next life, she intends to be an otter.