(no subject)
Educate me my friends, for I feel as if I am woefully ignorant.
Setting : New Orleans and surrounding areas during the early twenties.
Characters & Issues : Main character is white female, young, orphaned and raised by an "uncle". Said uncle has something in his history that would label him as an outsider if it ever came to light, this combined with his sweet temper make him a little more understanding and sympathetic of race issues in the community. Not that he's marching for black rights or is one hundred percent comfortable with putting equality into practice, but he's as understanding as I think a white male in this time and in his position can be. Early on the main character is actually located by some relatives who live in a nice place uptown and goes to live with them.
The problem : Two of the characters I need to follow her into this new life are a brother and sister pair who are 1/4 white. The sister is fairly pale and can "pass" if she needs to even though her features are distinctly non-anglo, but her brother is still pretty dark. Both of these two siblings come from a tightly connected household who traces their ancestry to the free people of color living in New Orleans when it still belonged to the French. Their parents now own a business (I'm still debating as to what it is, but I'm leaning towards some sort of trade that would give them a bit of mobility about town).
The only thing is, now that she's stepping into a "better", and certainly more affluent society, under what circumstances can she still meet with her two friends that would be deemed socially acceptable? It's vital to the plot that their friendship is not cut off. What kinds of social interactions would people of different colors be able to meet and socially interact in during this time period?
Setting : New Orleans and surrounding areas during the early twenties.
Characters & Issues : Main character is white female, young, orphaned and raised by an "uncle". Said uncle has something in his history that would label him as an outsider if it ever came to light, this combined with his sweet temper make him a little more understanding and sympathetic of race issues in the community. Not that he's marching for black rights or is one hundred percent comfortable with putting equality into practice, but he's as understanding as I think a white male in this time and in his position can be. Early on the main character is actually located by some relatives who live in a nice place uptown and goes to live with them.
The problem : Two of the characters I need to follow her into this new life are a brother and sister pair who are 1/4 white. The sister is fairly pale and can "pass" if she needs to even though her features are distinctly non-anglo, but her brother is still pretty dark. Both of these two siblings come from a tightly connected household who traces their ancestry to the free people of color living in New Orleans when it still belonged to the French. Their parents now own a business (I'm still debating as to what it is, but I'm leaning towards some sort of trade that would give them a bit of mobility about town).
The only thing is, now that she's stepping into a "better", and certainly more affluent society, under what circumstances can she still meet with her two friends that would be deemed socially acceptable? It's vital to the plot that their friendship is not cut off. What kinds of social interactions would people of different colors be able to meet and socially interact in during this time period?