Coming Of Age In Mississippi
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The first main event that I believe led to Anne Moody becoming an activist for Civil Rights was when she was younger, her cousin George Lee was babysitting and he burned down the house in a fit of rage and when Daddy gets home he blames it on Essie Mae (Anne Moody). This foreshadows all of lifes injustices that will be thrown her way. The next time was when she made friends with white neighbors and they decided to go to the movies, Anne couldnt sit with her friends, she had to sit in the balcony with all of the other blacks. She did not understand why it was this way. Another event was when she was in high school, she changes her name to Anne Moody, and a white boy, whose name was Emmitt Till who was visiting from Chicago, whistled at a white girl, and then a group of white men murdered him. This bothered Ann, and she didnt work or sleep for days. When Samuel OQuinn, a black empowerment activist and NAACP member tried to organize a meeting, the Principle Willis, who is an Uncle Tom, tattled on him. Samuel was shot by a mob of white men. The first experience of a civil rights movement was when she was attending Natchez College in Mississippi. The lunch lady served food with maggots in it. The cook, Miss Harris, knew that the food was spoiled but didnt care. Anne organized a protest and it was successful. This was a hint of what was yet to come from Anne.
Blacks in the south didnt know what it was like to be equal to whites. Theyve been told their entire life that they werent equal and never will be. The Anne came into so many peoples lives. She showed them that they could be equal. The only difference was the color of the skin. She taught them that that wasnt even a big difference. She fought segregation her entire life.
The most drastic incident that happened to Anne was when she was working in Canton, Mississippi for a cause of voter registration. People involved in the movement are dying left and right, and this becomes very discouraging to her. She finds out that she is on the KKK black list and fears for her life.