“That Belle denied her true identity in order to protect herself and her family from racial persecution” this quote from New York Times bestselling author Therese Anne Fowler gives perfect insight into Belle’s life and the truths she has to hide, not only to protect herself but her family as well. Belle da Costa Greene was not always a successful white librarian but, Belle Marion Greener a young black girl and the daughter of the first black graduate of Harvard and an avid black rights enthusiast. Belle’s mother was forced to make the tough decision when her children were young whether to register them as white or black citizens. Belle and her siblings had light complexions, which made it possible for them to register as white and give them the opportunity to be successful in a racially segregated country. She began her job as a librarian at a small university where she was able to attend night lectures to further her education. With the help of a close friend, Belle was able to obtain the job of being J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian. This job was not the average librarian job, but required Belle to travel around the world to obtain rare manuscripts and art at auctions. The sound of traveling the world for one's job sounds wonderful, however, for Belle it caused a large challenge when hiding her true identity and race. It is extremely difficult to comprehend that there was a time when people had to hide their true selves, and race to become successful. Belle would not have been given the opportunity to become a successful librarian for J.P. Morgan if she had not registered as a white girl. Not only did hiding her true identity affect Belle, it also affected her family and relationships. Belle’s father was a prominent figure in the black rights movement, so when the decision was made to register as white citizens, her parents divorced and her father was no longer able to see his children or encourage them to fight for black rights. This drastic change not only affected their relationship with their father, but also with the rest of Belle’s extended family. Belle’s mother made a point not to visit her family in Washington D.C. or to invite her family to visit in New York because it would be frowned upon for them to be seen with black people. While working for Mr. Morgan, Belle was extremely successful. Belle was able to obtain almost every item she was bidding on at auctions and she was extremely knowledgeable on the manuscripts and art needed to grow Mr. Morgan’s library. Unfortunately, because of Belle’s talent, there was a lot of attention drawn towards her and she became required to attend social events with the Morgan family. The constant attention and interaction with the higher class white society made it extremely difficult for Belle to keep her race a secret. Though heartbreaking to understand that people had to hide their truths to be successful, it is important to realize it is something that people still have to deal with to this day. Belle was faced with the tremendous challenge of hiding her truth to become successful. Hidden truths are often viewed as a negative thing, because it is important to stay honest. For Belle, hiding her true self made it possible for her to be a successful young woman and gave her the opportunity to support her family. Belle da Costa Greene, was an extremely successful young woman with much knowledge; but only thanks to Belle Marion Greener, a young girl who learned and overcame the challenges of being a black girl and understood the importance of advocating for herself. The novel, The Personal Librarian, teaches an important lesson of what it was like to be black in white dominant society and how sometimes one has to hide their truth to best benefit themselves and their family.