I used to say I like every kind of music except Country. That was until my good friend Steve Abel made me sit down and listen to ‘Johnny Cash at San Quentin’, recorded live at the infamous prison. I was an instant fan.
So when “Walk the Line”, the Johnny Cash biopic, was released in 2005 I was eager to see it. I thought it was a great movie, with some brilliant scenes, like the one where Ma and Pa Carter see off Cash’s dealer with shotguns as he quits cold turkey. They seemed to epitomise the best of White Southern Christian Decency, in contrast to the usual treatment we see of Southern hypocrisy, malice and racist cruelty.
The romance between Johnny Cash and June Carter was of course the main thread of the movie. It winds around his protracted wooing of her and ends with a caption celebrating their 35 year partnership on and off stage after she finally agrees to marry him. His first wife Vivian is portrayed as a woman just never suited to be his wife and who drove him away with her bitterness, jealousy and resentment. I remember idly wondering what she was really like, and whether this was a fair portrayal of her character, as the story moved back to his great love for June.
Watching the movie for a second time the other day I was again swept up in what a nasty, bitter woman Vivian was, even as another part of my mind again questioned the representation. In the garden with my wife the following day, we began deconstructing the movie as we worked. As we talked through different elements of the plot, I began to feel more and more uneasy. Later I decided to google Vivian Cash. I found a review of her book ‘I Walked the Line’, written after the film came out. Not surprisingly it gave a very different story to the film, suggesting that their marriage had been very happy until June stole John away. What WAS surprising, though, was when I looked at photos of Vivian. Turns out that she was a black woman.
You’d never know from reading any of the articles about her.
You’d certainly never know from watching the movie, where she is played by Ginnifer Goodwin.
In fact the only thing I found in my admittedly brief search that referenced her ethnicity was a newspaper headline from when he was busted for drugs that says “ARREST EXPOSES JOHNNY CASH’S NEGRO WIFE”. Presumably exposes her for the sin of being black in the USA.
Interestingly, in contrast to the newspaper article from the time, the film shows him leaving court alone and coming home to her censorious displeasure. It is shortly after this arrest that the chronology of the film shows them separating.
I’d noticed before that there are almost no black people in the film. Two shoe shiners are the sum total are far as I remember. I imagine the director, James Mangold, justifies this by saying that there are no black characters who are important to the story. That is if you don’t include his first wife.
Suddenly the treatment of Vivian makes complete sense. In the world of American Country music, of course the black woman is the villain of the story – even when her husband leaves her and her four daughters for another woman. June and John are considered one of the most iconic couples in country music history, and no black woman is going to undermine that narrative. Her character has to be destroyed. But even that is not enough. Her very identity is robbed from her, made invisible by whitewash.
They say that black is not a colour, it is the absence of light. That certainly seems to be true in Hollywood.
EDIT: I have been asked in some of the comments to withdraw my post because Vivian’s birth certificate and recorded genealogy state that she is white. I will not do so, for two reasons:
1. Regardless of what was written on her documents, it is apparent to many of us (especially those of us of mixed ancestry ourselves) that she is black / mixed (there must be a better word for that). This is an opinion based on every single photo of her to be found. There is a one photo from later in life which some say shows that she is white. I guess if you don’t have elderly multiracial friends or family (and ignore every other photo of her) you might think so but it is not convincing. There are numerous possible explanations for the discrepancy between her official papers and her appearance, many of them outlined in the comments.
2. Given the effort made in the movie to try to cast actors who resembled their characters, casting Ginnifer Goodwin for someone who is at the very least ethnically ambiguous is still whitewashing. Her ethnicity was important to their story, as evidenced by the attacks upon them both.
Ethnicity and racism are very touchy subjects to be sure. I have never had such interest in a post, and almost exclusively from North America. Why? Perhaps the USA needs some kind of national reconciliation process to help it deal with the trauma and shame of its past.
——————————————————————————
As of 13 May 2020 I am closing the comments because a growing number of posters from the USA are getting increasingly abusive of each other.
Monkey Business 
Interesting. It would seem Winston Peters wants to apply the same philosophy to the colour brown
I really never look at the film.but it was never no secret about his first wife was Black. Everyone said the movie was great regarding the topic is was about…but not about Johnny Cash real early years… Maybe, it will come to a movie one day, soon.
That is quite astonishing. Waht a stunning beautiful woman she was, what hardship she must have been through! Thanks for sharing this.
Wow, I had no idea! Disturbing at every level.
Wooooo… this is news to me, thanks for uncovering this… black is beautiful. A poster I remember as a kid growing up in the 1970’s on my cousins wall. Shame on Hollywood.
Thanks for your comment. Its beautiful
Thanks for this – truth is good, and better late than never.
Amen!
Except that it isn’t true. She’s of Italian heritage. The article is from “The Thunderbolt”, a KKK-oriented newspaper that got it wrong. Lots of KKK people believed it at the time though.
One blogger’s explanation is here: http://pinkeye-private-i.tumblr.com/post/110627182015/at-the-trial-of-johnny-cashs-drug-possession-he
A photo of Vivian and Johnny together when much older is here: https://goo.gl/images/qNRTso . She’s clearly white.
Actually it isnt clear that she is white. Do you know how many african american women or mixed race women look like that? What you see is not always what you get.
This article and the comments beneath it reveal a part of US history that is rarely acknowledged-“passing”. Many people passed in order to make their way in society and took on Sicilian, Spanish and Jewish names so that they could find employment, especially in the South. Most of my family from Louisiana passed when they left and headed west, most notably Lucille Lescuer, who would come to be known in Hollywood as Joan Crawford. Did you ever wonder why she didn’t have natural born children and adopted? Carole Channing and many other celebrities who admitted later that they had passed often spoke of how they did it to survive. I don’t hold it against this family, but if anyone took a look at the range of colors among African -Americans, you’d be much less surprised to imagine that Vivian’s family may well have passed as well. My family who moved to Texas from New Orleans sure did.
Hee, hee, So true !
Yeah, she of Italian Heritage…just like Giancarlo Esposito.
Wow wow wow….my Lord …color wiped away. Wonder why the kids never came out and talk? Oh yea she Black mixed. But SHE IS BLACK . Yea Carol Chaning was ablack, but didn’t tell until later in life. And yall couldn’t tell…
Or, like Dinah Shore
Vivian was Italian……I’ve met her…..she was a very gracious woman. I met her because I’d been part of working with Johnny Cash for 8 years during the late 1970s to mid 1982. This story is utter BS rubbish…
Being Italian is no more a race than being American. One can be Italian and still be of Afrikan descent, just like being Hispanic.
There are people of African descent, that you call Black, however, it is a skin tone, not a nationality!
There are many Italians of African descent.
Sorry to burst your bubble but his wife could have been both Italian and African American!
Ummm I’m her grand niece and I can tell you that your comment is rubbish. We are BLACK. Yes, we are Italian as well. But identify as Black. Thanks for your comments on her I’m sure she appreciates those that remember her beautiful spirit. She was far from bitter!
Really? You DNA tested her?….Yes, it’s one kind of racism to demonize her blackness, but it’s another kind of racism to deny it. The pics don’t lie. Yes, she’s clearly of mixed race, but one of those races is clearly black. The “Italian” thing is probably another attempt to “pass” as blacks often had to do back then, unfortunately for many reasons. Including marriage since, in many states, black-white marriages were illegal until fairly recently.
If you think it’s some kind of slander to claim she is black or part black, then there’s something you need to examine about yourself….
Do you realize how many people where mulatto back in those days and passed for white? Looks can be deceiving.
Please go look up Victoria Rowell and her daughter. Her daughter is blonde haired blue eyes. If you didn’t know her mother you wouldn’t think she had a shred of black in her.
Black people come in every color in the world.
Italians have a Moorish history… so they fall into the same category as black ppl honestly… Italians just don’t wanna hear that shyt.
Italians have a Moorish history… so they fall into the same category as black ppl honestly… Italians just don’t wanna hear that shyt.
She clearly looks black in that pic.
Vivian was always *presented* as being Italian. That and the later photo prove nothing; she could still very well be a black woman, or at least “part” black.
She’s not CLEARLY anything. Her skin tone is racially ambiguous.
I agree
As a mixed race person, all I see is a black woman using an Italian lie to pass as white. Takes one to know one
The Liberto family was from Italy and Texas census records support this as does the naturalisation record of Vivian’s grandfather. On her mother’s side census records record the family were of English and German descent.
Exactly, she may be mix race but definitely Black in America.
I just Googled. Viv is black. She may be biracial, but she’s definitely of African descent
No, it’s not so clear. She looks like many of my relatives who were born closer in time to the rape of their enslaved African grandmothers and great-grandmothers. In fact, some of them are identified in some census records as white but others as mulatto and others as colored or negro or black. She’s not so clearly white to me.
There isn’t a color on the planet that black women don’t come in.
Just because she is fair skinned doesn’t mean she isn’t black.
I think “clearly” is a little strong … he make up is one color, her arms another. She is the same complexion as Etta James was … and Etta James was black. And as a point of reference, Black who chose to pass would often claim Italian or Mediterranean heritage in order to hide their racial origin. So while there is certainly a possibility that she was Italian, there is an equal possibility that she was not.
In case you are not aware, there are Black people that naturally look non-black. Prime example: legendary Broadway actress Carol Channing. She revealed in her autobiography that she was Black, and she definitely looked and lived as a white petson
You’re conflating nationality with race. Vivian Liberto’s skin tone and hair would clearly lead her to be categorized as ‘negro’ under the racial constructions of the 50s-60s. This ‘negro’ appearance could have come via her father’s Italian family or via her mother’s family (who you notice are not named in the blog post). Several commenters are ignoring Vivian’s mother and denying the existence of Italians racialized as ‘black.’
Vivian’s lighter skin in older age, could be caused by a variety of factors, and you’ll notice that her pale face is the effect of camera lighting on a face with makeup on it. If the KKK was slandering Vivian for being ‘negro,’ it’s because her society constructed her physical features as ‘negro.’
No, I think you have it wrong, unfortunately. The pics don’t lie. Yes, she’s clearly of mixed race, but one of those races is clearly black. The “Italian” thing is probably another attempt to “pass” as blacks often had to do back then, unfortunately, since, in many states, black-white marriages were illegal until fairly recently.
Actually it is true her mom was a Black woman from Texas namr Irene Robinson
She is clearly high yellow.
No she’s not. She’s clearly a lighter skinned Black person. There are Black Italians you know.
Here’s a long story from the local paper where she lived out her life, told from her perspective. She was very beloved in our community: http://www.vcstar.com/story/entertainment/2016/10/26/johnny-cashs-first-wife-tells-of-romance-heartbreak-june-carter-vivian-cash-/92772320
“…their marriage had been very happy until June stole John away…” No blame for the white male in leaving his first wife and four children. You’ve called out the racism. Now notice the sexism!
bam !!!
Very good point. Women don’t steal men away; men leave.
Just visited the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville and it was very obvious from his letters that he really loved Vivian. The movie was about June and Johnny’s love affair but he clearly loved both women with a great passion.
That inset article and headline are from an Alabama Klan paper called The Thunderbolt. Vivian Liberto was Italian.
http://pinkeye-private-i.tumblr.com/post/110627182015/at-the-trial-of-johnny-cashs-drug-possession-he
Sadly, this argument is another “white man’s viewpoint”. Yes, the Klan attempts to demonize her blackness, but it’s another kind of racism to deny it. The pics don’t lie. Yes, she’s clearly of mixed race, but one of those races is clearly black. The “Italian” thing is probably another attempt to “pass” as blacks often had to do back then, unfortunately for many reasons. Including marriage since, in many states, black-white marriages were illegal until fairly recently.
Sure, she was Italian.
So disappointing to find the director whitewashed the film like this. I quite liked that film. What a bizarre thing to change. How could the director justify it? That’s left a sour taste.
Leave it to Hollywood to whitewash everything
Despite her appearance in photos, Vivian Liberto was not Black. See http://pinkeye-private-i.tumblr.com/post/110627182015/at-the-trial-of-johnny-cashs-drug-possession-he
Her niece just confirmed it right here in the comments. Sorry to burst your bubble. Scroll up and check it out,
Hate to say it, but if Vivian Liberto Cash was African-American, she didn’t admit it. She was of “Italian, Dutch and English” heritage according to her father. Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/12/entertainment/la-et-ms-johnny-cash-calif/4
Many blacks ‘passed’ as white I the 1800s and early 1900s to avoid persecution.
Maybe you should research what “passing” meant for Black people back in those days.The sole purpose of passing was to assume the identity of being white,thereby disavowing their Black heritage altogether.
I don’t know if she was or wasn’t black, but saying that “she didn’t admit it” and clinging to “Italian” heritage can certainly be seen as passing, assuming the identity of a racial heritage that disavowed blackness. Considering how close Italy is to Northern Africa, you think that being Italian precludes her being black?
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/12/entertainment/la-et-ms-johnny-cash-calif/4
Actually, this is not so:
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/12/entertainment/la-et-ms-johnny-cash-calif/4
According to Johnny Cash: The Life, a definitive biography by Robert Hilburn, the photos, when reproduced in grainy newsprint, made Vivian look dark and were seized upon by white supremacist groups as a way to get back at Cash. Hilburn writes that Vivian’s marriage certificate listed her race as Caucasian and her father said in a letter than she was of Italian, Dutch, and English heritage. If you google for info on Vivian being black, you’ll mostly see results from hate groups who believe this is a smear.
I am of Russian descent on my father’s side and “Carribbean” descent on my mother’s, which is Dutch, Irish and African. My sisters are blonde, my brother is dark and I’m in between.
She may have been black, but she certainly didn’t identify as being black. She and her four kids claim that they were Italian and American. Of course, a lot of people in America say they’re not black that have African ancestry – about 20% of people identifying as ‘white’ have black African heritage. But for balance in your article I think it’d be good if you at least tell her side of the story, which is that she was of Italian-American descent. Her daughter had a lot of problems with her portrayal in the movie, but her ‘race’ was not one of them. The whole phenomenon of ‘passing’ and claiming certain identities is interesting in and of itself.
“Passing “was common amongst light-skinned Blacks in those days.Enlightenment is a beautiful thing.You should try it by doing some research on passing.
Omg!What is it with white folks and their denial???Most of you claiming Vivian was Italian have no clue of what “passing” was and how common it was done by light-skinned Blacks in those days looking to escape the yoke of oppression and bigotry associated with their Blackness.Wouldn’t you think that in order to “”pass” and individual would have had to obtain fake documents to pull that off?You’d think obtaining fake documents was a lot easier in those days than it is now.
I find the historical sloppiness in this piece and the comments disturbing. Many Italians have African DNA. Many white people have African DNA. But if she thought she was white, if her family thought she was white, if Cash thought she was white then she functioned as white in the United States. Many people were passing in the period for greater economic security. So that’s a different experience than someone who is treated as white by everyone for her whole life. I have no reason to believe that some folks might accuse of her of not being white to get at him, but no body in the comments has any evidence other than an eyeball test to say that she was passing. The literature about how some ethnic groups “became white” in the U.S. might be instructive here, as we’re not talking about DNA with race, but how people are categorized and treated. The actual facts matter before accusing Hollywood of whitewashing. If she, her family, Cash, the census and her birth certificate considered her white, then that matters in terms of the causal claims being made here.
‘Johnny Cash at San Quentin’
I thought it was Folsom Prison? Or was it both?
Her father was the son of Sicilian immigrants and her mother and mother’s parents were listed as white in the census. She went to a white high school long before the schools were integrated in Texas. It makes a good story, but it appears not to be true.
You do realize that Sicily is just a short boat ride yo Africa, don’t you? She may have been Italian, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t black.
Well, exactly! “She’s English! She’s Italian” like that means she can’t be black?
They also forgot hannibal , and what happened in Italy way before Vivian was born, please do go back and stop sugar coating the pass, this is why our children are so blind, History has always diluted the pass, Slash from guns and roses is mixed, Obama is mixed , and for the record Hannibal went through Italy …..it allways have to be a bitter debate because the bottom line is Some people dont like the fact that Johnny Cash was in love with a Dark skin women , hell the slave masters did not like us but that didn’t stop them from having his way making children and then disoning them..stop showing all them flawed reports , just like the Bible was rewritten so was Hollywoods Lies …this shouldn’d even be a debate ..and for the record the Klan got it right she was Black…shes the one that changed her Nationality ….
That’s exactly what I was wondering — if her ancestry was Sicilian and therefore so close to Africa. I do want to point something out: we’ll never know “The Truth” unless her kids gets DNA tested and release the results. It’s easy to project our own truths backwards onto historical figures. As far as passing: I have an ambiguous (in many ways) great–great-grandmother whose husband reportedly went to court to deny she was part-Black. (19th century South.) I don’t know. I suspect she might have been and perhaps also part Native based on how her daughter and granddaughters look. But I won’t know until my sister and I do DNA tests. Either way, God bless her.
I WATCHED “I walk The Line,” and I kept thinking to myself, “Why are they portraying this homewrecking June Carter woman as being so morally upstanding, when it’s obvious she’s a harlot?” … Now I know why. #IShouldHaveGuessedIt
She wasn’t black. Holy misinformation on the web Batman.
Thats Hollywood for you.
Whether the woman had African DNA is up for debate we will never know, however her lineage is well documented on the Internet, had you bothered to research instead of making assumptions and jumping to half-assed conspiracy theories. She identified as Italian. Her family is from Sicily. The Liberto family in San Antonio, where she and Johnny met, own a large company and on their website it has the family history dating back to when great, great, great grandad came over from Sicily which certainly would explain her features given the proximity to Africa and the certain race mixing that has been going on in that region for centuries. But nonetheless, her family is Italian – white.
There is also a story out there, again, had you bothered to research before spreading misinformation, about what happened after that newspaper photo was printed. That newspaper, BTW, was a white supremacist rag already pissed at Cash about some song he wrote supporting Native Americans.
“The group urged its readers to boycott Cash’s recordings and referred to Cash’s “mongrelized” children.
Fearing a backlash among fans, especially those in the South, Holiff launched a counteroffensive. He contacted Vivian’s father, Tom Liberto, asking for a copy of Vivian’s marriage certificate —which would state her race as Caucasian — and a history of her bloodlines. Liberto sent him the marriage certificate and a letter in which he detailed Vivian’s Italian, Dutch and English heritage. The material was sent to the Thunderbolt.”
Lastly, again, had you bothered to make use of Google, you would have know that in the 1950s in the South, where Johnny and Vivian were married, there was laws against interracial marriage. Blacks and whites could not legally marry until 1967. She wrote a book in which she identified herself as Italian American. She didn’t identify herself as black and had the documentation to back it up. You can argue about how she looks all you want, but the fact of the matter is, she was considered white by all but those peckerwoods who printed that story, or else she would not have been allowed to marry Johnny in Texas. Her people, are prominent, rich white people in San Antonio. Look them up. You’ll see.
There’s a reason why there isn’t much information about the race of Johnny Cash’s wife at first glance, it’s because it was a non-issue to everyone but some racist assed crackers already looking to mess with Cash. And you fell for it.
Next time, do your research because this whole whacked out diatribe of yours makes you look quite stupid, especially when the truth is out there had you half-assed even tried.
Have you researched the history of Sicily?
No they haven’t ..
We don’t make assumptions. We can tell who is passing and who isn’t… she was passing. Bet she had to perm that hair. That’s besides the point though. Hope someone make a new movies about their lives, but this time tell the truth.
And the only reason you know who your Daddy is is because your Mama told you so. Come on now. You don’t think that people can look white and have African DNA? You don’t think that people will LIE on birth certificates and paperwork? So because the FAMILY says so…that makes it true? DNA doesn’t lie and people have been passing for all kinds of ethnic groups for centuries. Doesn’t make it any less true, even if the KKK printed it in a newspaper. The newspaper didn’t make that woman black…someone’s sex act did. GTFOH.
Why is Vivian’s public denial of blackness (in a virulently anti-black society) relevant to how she is represented on screen today? The point here is that the actress portraying Vivian portrays a whitewashed depiction. She looks nothing like Vivian. Moreover, the dynamics of passing are not as you describe them. People racially pass in some contexts and don’t pass in others. If Vivian ALWAYS passed for white, we wouldn’t be talking about this KKK newspaper artifact and its cultural relevance at the time. You racialize Italian-ness in really problematic ways, ignoring the diversity of appearance in Italy and the occasional denial of whiteness to Italian immigrants…not to mention the possibilities regarding what Vivian’s mother looked like.
I think you should do more research; Find a Grave reveals that her grandfather was Sicilian, and her color photos look very white, as do her daughters, one of whom is a famous singer in her own right. Also, please provide the name of the “newspaper” the headline appeared in. It could easily be a tabloid, and there were many people eager to discredit Cash in any way possible.
Vivian Liberto Cash-Diston was an Italian-American born in San Antonio,TX therefore she was not black as this article emplies!
What about the news paper article that document’s her as black. Nice try white washer. She is biracial passing as white. Unsuccessfully.
Lmao every has eyesand its a known fact most cicilians are part black
“I’m Black and I’m proud” say it loud, “I’m black and I’m proud” Hollywood lied…
It reads “her 4 daughters”, where they Cash’s own daughters? Terrible .
The distinction was her children v June’s children.
Amazing!!!! Hatred of African Americans never ceases to amaze me. How sad and what a waste of energy. SMH. I can’t understand what are the real underlying factors in such hatred that drives people to such villainous behavior.
Wow I’m in oww
Um, to the guy below who tried: Giancarlo Esposito is black, too: father is Italian, mother is Black. Starred in multiple Spike Lee movies as a Black man, and there’s zero way Spike would play about passing. Stop trying to wash over the fact that it’s possible Vivian’s family was biracial and trying to pass…
San Quentin. Jonny Cash at St. Quentin is about NAMBLA.
Vivian Liberto Cash-Diston was an Italian-American born in San Antonio,TX therefore she was not black as this article emplies!
She was biracial passing as white. Nice try white washer. You need more paint than that to cover up all that black!
Wow. Still pandering to the deep south country music fan and catering to thier prejudices. I’d love to learn more about her and the kid’s story.
It’s time that we made a list of directors for black people to boycott and put James Mangold at the top of the list.
Very good article that enlighted me once again on the ignorance to be acknowledged.
She was Italian. The pictures are deceiving. I would be outraged if this article was true, but it simply isn’t. The newspaper article cited was slander, and Cash was furious about it.
Do more research.
We have black people in Italy, too! You can be Italian and black (or Italian and mixed race). They are not mutually exclusive, you know? Believe it or not, there are people of different races in every country in the world!
Or Cash was furious that being racially constructed as ‘negro’ had such harmful consequences for his wife and family. Cash’s outrage isn’t evidence that she wasn’t commonly racially constructed by others as ‘negro.’
Also, dark-skinned, kinky-haired Italians can be racialized as black. (Africans have lived in Italy for a very long time.) Moreover, only Vivian’s father is cited here as being Italian.
Actually, it’s you who needs to do more research. Read my comments below…
When the Moors (who were black)came to Sicily,the Sicilian men were so warlike that the Moors killed all the men and male children and repopulated the island themselves.So it would seem that all modern day Sicilians are decended from Moors (black).
I think she is gorgeous! She is probably from the southern part of Italy. Most of the people from there are mixed with the black race
So this in a backhanded way explains “The Man in Black”…
Wait so Italians don’t come in all shapes, color and size ? Sicilians are not Italian? Italy didn’t get invaded by the moors (black) ? These are questions that all of the people saying “she’s not black she’s Italian” need to research!!! Back then a lot of black people who could pass for being white intentionally hid their blackness for safety and opportunities that they could not acquire if they claimed their roots. That woman looks mixed but I definitely see her blackness. Don’t take it from her in the name of country music.
How does it feel to write all that without creditable sources? Vivian was Italian. A bunch of White Supremacists jumped to a conclusion because they thought she was unattractive.
https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/cash-carry/
You can be Italian and black. These two things are not mutually exclusive, especially if you’re Sicilian!
Why am I not surprised? People of color are marginalized people and marginalized people are invisible.
What resl difference dkes it make now?
They always said she was some sort of Hispanic
You will need to research the history of Sicily. Any Italian will tell you that there are many Sicilians that are “darker” than Italians from Northern Italy. Does this make her, “Black”. Well, I don’t think so because while Whites invented the “one drop rule”, I personally don’t subscribe to it. To say she claimed to be Italian-Dutch…no surprise there. What people trying to pass would actually admit to be Black in any form? To say she is white would mean you white folks might need to redefine what ‘White” is.
Vivian was Italian, Dutch and English
I can’t believe they hid it. I mean that was a blatant and deliberate misdirect from who she really was. I have a lot of respect for Joaquin Phoenix as a brilliant actor and I have a hard time believing he would sign off on going along with the ruse. Maybe they just wanted to tell a love story without the sort of distractions this would have probably caused. Still it was disrespectful to his real ex-wife and his real children too.
Given how close Italy is to northern Africa and their history of enslaving people that they fought and conquered, one can be Italian and African. And early on in American history, when Italians were first coming to the US, they were not considered “white.” Immigrants became white as they became more acceptable and as our government “needed” more white people. So even claiming that she was Italian is a form of white-washing.
Two things:
What defined one as ‘negro’ in the USA in those days.
What race ‘Sicilians’ are considered to be by mainland Italians.
Then get back to me.
I listened to Johnny Cash as far back as the 1950’s. Johnny Cash was an stand up guy. Once he bailed my friend out of jail after a show in the New Orleans. Not many people today would do anything for people that are incarcerated. Only Johnny Cash would help people who locked up and broke. I wish Johnny Cash was here today to see the shape this county is in.