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Passing in Boston: The Story of the Healy Family
December 4, 2002
James O'Toole professor, history, Boston College

Boston College history professor, James O'Toole discusses his newest book Passing for White: Race, Religion, and the Healy Family, 1820-1920, which documents the extraordinary life of the Healy brothers of Boston.

In the mid-1800's, the Healy brothers of Boston, James, Patrick, and Sherwood, looked like the picture of Catholic success. James was bishop of Portland, Maine; Patrick, president of Georgetown University; and Sherwood, chief supervisor of the building of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The Healy's were not typical members of the Boston Catholic elite, but the children of a multiracial slave couple from Georgia.

Culture & Identity | History | People & Places
Authors | James O'Toole | African American | Profiles | Race
WGBH
Boston College
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