The Gilded Years, 2016

Historical novel by Karin Tanabe based on Anita Hemmings’ experience of passing for white at Vassar. Includes many scenes with her brother Frederick John Hemmings, MIT Class of 1897.

Frederick had always been more cautious than his sister when it came to interacting with and befriending those outside the Negro community. His slightly darker skin, the fact that he had never passed as white for more than a few days, his reality of being a Negro student in a white world, and his naturally circumspect character meant he never dared take the risks his sister did.

The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe