Notes of a White Black Woman - CL.

A black American often mistaken for white, Scales-Trent, a law professor at the State Univ. of New York, offers thought-provoking observations in these short, personal essays. She broods over ``coming out''--proclaiming her racial identity--and gains strength and insight from the struggles of gays and lesbians. She wonders about racial loyalty, how so many in her family picked dark-skinned spouses and why so many fellow civil-rights lawyers are black people with light skin. And she knows fear: how her skin could put a dark-skinned consort in danger, or even--in her nightmare--jeopardize her during race riots in a black neighborhood. Other pieces are more tentative: she suggests that children born of mixed marriages be viewed as bridges, not mulattos (a sterile hybrid) but doesn't address the issue of official biracial identity. An essay on a visit to a Native American student's home community is treacly. But her appendix offers a valuable account of how she works ``at the crossroads,'' encouraging law students to transcend their world through documents (poems, films, social science material) and by engaging in fieldwork. (Apr.)