WHEN WE WERE COLORED by Clifton...

WHEN WE WERE COLORED by Clifton L. Taulbert (Penguin: $11.99; 153 pp., illustrated). In this bittersweet memoir of growing up in rural Mississippi during the last days of segregation, Taulbert praises the extended family that nurtured him: “As a child, I was not only protected, but also nourished, encouraged, taught and loved by people who, with no land, little money and few other resources, displayed the strength of a love which knew no measure.” Although he hardly misses the limited horizons of his past, Taulbert laments the loss of the love and values his relatives inculcated.