"Jesus was as white as white can be, my Mandingo."

Sarah's mind once again slipped wistfully into the past, to that One Hot Summer in 1957 in Madison County...

"Miss Sarah, I has a question."

Yes, my sweet Mandingo?"

"Mandingo was a name given to me by white folk when I was little. I don't want to be Mandingo no more."

"So what would you like?"

"I like maybe being Paul."

"But Mandingo, Paul is a Biblical Name."

"What about Mark, then?"

"Silly, that's a Biblical name, too. Negroes shouldn't have names from the Bible, because all the Saints in the Bible were White."

"Jesus was white too, Miss Sarah?"

"Jesus was as white as white can be, my Mandingo."

"What about Moses then? I wouldn't mind being named Moses."

"That's better, my Mandingo, because Moses wasn't white but a Jew -- but he was an Imporrtant Jew, not someone to have a Negro named after."

"What about Thomas?"

"He was Doubting, but he was still White and a Friend of Jesus."

"So what CAN I name myself, Miss Sarah?

"My dear Mandingo, I think the only names available to you are Roscoe and Rufus."

"Roscoe and Rufus?"

"Roscoe and Rufus."

"Thanks, Miss Sarah, but then I guess I'll just keep my name as it is..."

"Oh Mandingo, you can't get your feelings hurt so easily. Being able to get your feelings hurt is left to White People..."

I am Laslo.