Type: literature

Afro-American November 3, 1922 “RAZZ” The true story of a half-white, half-colored girl in Lakeland, Prince Georges County, Md Short Story The story takes place in a village called Lakeland and centers on the character of Razz. Her birth name and is not known. Nor is her origin. She appeared in the settlement as a small child who skated around the dusty town. Someone started calling her Razz and the name stuck. Razz was a young woman of strong and independent nature. She wore clothing traditional for men and chose hard labor for her work. She was marked by the belief that she was of mixed race and did not know the identity of her father. Razz did not feel she fit in the white or black communities. Despite this she was the leader among the children due to her athletic abilities.

U.S. One, Maine to Georgia Federal Writer’s HardPress Publishing Miami, FL Page 179 Project This book describes communities along US 1, a road which stretches the length of the east coast of the United States. The small section on the Lakeland Community is summarized here. Lakeland is described as a Negro suburb named for several man made lakes used to produce goldfish. The area’s developer, Edwin Newman built several homes and a hall to house fraternal groups. White residents built the community in 1890. By 1900 so many Negro residents had moved in that the few whites still In the community chose to leave. Lakeland’s population is noted as 300. By comparison College Park is noted as having a population of 316 and Berwyn an area which includes Greenbelt (officially the Berwyn Resettlement Project) has 1,000 inhabitants U.S. One, Maine to Florida by Federal Writer’s Project, HardPress Publishing, Miami, FL reprint from work sponsored by the U.S. 1 Highway Association, Published by Modern Age Books, New York.