Gifts from Prometheus

"Thomas Fisher's journey into his family's past upon discovering that his grandfather was a black man passing for white is intriguing and provocative. "Passing" is a story that the African American community has known and protected for ages, but as Fisher demonstrates, is relevant to our society at large. He illuminates the arbitrary nature of race as a social construct as he examines his own attitudes and beliefs. Ultimately, it is a story of triumph that helps unite us all." - Dr. John Minney, Assistant Professor, Air Command and Staff College

"Fisher's personal story of discovery concerning his family's roots and his recounting of his grandfather's life as a Black man "passing" in mid-century Boston is both moving and compelling. His efforts to learn more about himself and his family's concealed past, as recounted here, are a revealing look at a range of areas of contemporary concern - racial equities and attitudes, resilience and family violence, and even our cultural constructs surrounding race and ethnicity. His work shows clearly that these issues are not unique to any one part of the country or a particular class of people. An important story that should be read and discussed widely" - James D. Campbell, Ph.D. History

My boyhood home was an unpredictable, frightening place where love was routinely conflated with alcoholic violence. Where all gifts - including food and the beds we slept in - were really loans with vig that compounded hourly, even on paid balances. Traumatic violence was a regular part of my childhood, the memories of which left me emotionally isolated and adrift in adulthood.

If not for my grandfather William, I might have given up on family and surrendered to the demons of my upbringing.

"Gifts From Prometheus" represents a two-year journey to document the hidden truth of our family, including the social and family circumstances that drove my grandfather from Georgia to Boston in 1917 during the "Great Migration" and the insidious forms of racism that forced him to pass for White in 1929 when he joined the Boston Police Department.

Documenting my grandfather's life led me to Georgia, historic railroad towns of the Piedmont Airline route, Augusta's segregated "Golden Blocks," Cypress swamps on the Savannah River, forlorn cemeteries, and the neighborhoods of my native Boston. These places were long ago imprinted in my DNA, but now are forever installed in my memories.

The book helped me understand - now with a stakeholder's perspective - the blunt reality of race in mid-century and contemporary America . It forced me to confront my own childhood complicity in bigotry and challenged half-truths we were taught about the moral righteousness of Boston on matters of equality.

Paradoxically, "Gifts from Prometheus" is really a story about love. By discovering the unknown heroes in our family history, I finally found peace through the redemptive, healing power of family.

This book is relevant to any non-fiction reader interested in themes of self-discovery, family heritage, racial equality, mid-century American history, and Boston Massachusetts history.