Local Color, based on the author's personal experience of growing up in a rural waterman and farm community in the 1950's describes an undeveloped area where happy children thrived on the enjoyment of freedom and simplistic living. She talks about the people, their personalities, contributions and the influences that set this community apart from city living or other rural areas. The people described in this book are hard-working generations of Virginians that represent a whole society---not just a particular class. The community survived and depended on each individual. Everyone had a role in survival. People were courteous. People were supportive. People were generous. Yet, it was a community of separatism. Black people lived within the confines society imposed.