Growing Up African American in the Jim Crow South - Part I
Group 6, Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, pp. 1-61
Background:
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In the 1940 and 1950s, before Anne joins the civil rights movement,
African Americans lacked many essential rights, such as the right to obtain an education equal to
those offered to white children, and were often unable to exercise those rights they had, such as
the right to vote.
Parents labor as sharecroppers from dawn to dusk almost every day of the week, they are barely
able to feed and clothe their children.
At age nine Moody starts doing domestic work for white families.
After her father abandons the family, she works several hours a day after school and on weekends
to help feed her siblings.
The opening section of the autobiography concludes with her recollection of her first calculated act
of resistance to the southern racial codes. Anne is very clueless about everything going on around
her in her childhood.
To begin discussion:
Autobiographers attempt to communicate with their readers through ”frames of significance.” That is,
they (autobiographers) often frame their recollections in ways that highlight what it is about their lives
they believe both significant to themselves and to their readers.
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What were some of Moody’s “frames of significance” in her early life? In other words, what
personal characteristics were most responsible for the way she responded to her
environment?
When analyzing her upbringing, in your opinion, what social factors influenced the way she
perceived her reality?
Class Exercise:
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Please take five minutes to think about how you first came to terms with the significance of race in
your life. Also, think about how did you learn what race means in modern America?
Discussion Questions:
1. On page 33 she writes, Moody writes: "Mamma kept telling us that we couldn't sit
downstairs, we couldn't do this or that with white children. Up until that time I had never
really thought about it. After all, we were playing together. I knew that we were going to
separate schools and all, but I never knew why."
In your opinion, what effects do you think the event at the Movie Theater this could have on
a child's understanding of race relations in our society?
What is your opinion about Toosweet’s response to the incident in the Movie Theater?
Would you have fought for equality? Or, would you have allowed racial segregation?
Please consider the social environment at the time.
Why is this event important in Anne Moody’s understanding of racial relations?
2. What were Anne Moody’s early perceptions of Black men and women?
According to Moody, what was the status of Blacks in society? What is implied
behind the cheap milk that is sold to Toosweet?
Why do you think Raymond does not marry Essie Mae’s mother?
3. Anne faces a lot of hardship between the loss of her grandfather and the leaving of her
father. Do you feel that this in anyway (good or bad) may affect the kind of person she
becomes and the actions she takes in the future?
4. Please explain why Raymond’s family did not accept Toosweet and her children?
What does this suggests about the racial and socioeconomic politics of the South?
5. Moody described on several occasions her feelings of anger towards her mom whenever
she was pregnant. Do you think this was a reaction based on selfishness?
6. Discuss why it was easier for a black woman to get a job than it was for a black man.
How does this impact Moody's early life?
What does this say about the economic possibilities for Black men and women?
7. The Johnson’s and Claiborne’s, both White families, seemed to care for Anne. They
invited her frequently to have dinner with them as if she was part of the family.
Moreover, due to economic needs, Toosweet is forced to steal corn from the Cook’s
cornfield. However, instead of immediately blaming Blacks, the Cook’s placed several
scarecrows.
Also, think about Sam and Walter.
Based on our previous readings and discussions, how can you explain these types of
interactions between Blacks and Whites?
Growing Up African American in the Jim Crow South - Part I
Group 6, Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, pp. 62-117
1. Why, after pushing Moody to do better than Miss Pearl’s family in church, did Toosweet
force Moody to join Mount Pleasant?
Why wouldn’t she not have wanted Moody to be baptized at Centreville Baptist in front of
Miss Pearl?
Do you think she was afraid that Moody was becoming to acclimated with people who
Toosweet would never be accepted by?
2. Although it is mentioned that Miss Pearl doesn’t like Toosweet because she wanted
Raymond to marry someone else, Miss Pearl and her children are overtly disrespectful to
Essie Mae and her family.
Seeing as how both families are African American and living in the Jim Crow South, what do
you think about the dynamic between Toosweet’s family and Raymond’s family?
3. Moody spends more than an entire chapter highlighting the importance of religion in the
African-American community and its influence on their daily lives. Church membership
provides a sense of community and church scholarship is taken very seriously, even for the
children. Despite this, Moody also shows how religion caused very tenuous situations for
herself, as well as for others, during her childhood.
Do you think that the prevalence of religion could have been a detriment to the unity
required for the civil rights movement to be successful?
4. At the end of chapter 6, Moody remarks on how her mother and Raymond “had been
hooked to the soil since they were children” and were now trying to hook her too
despite all the troubles they’ve faced with such a life. At the same time, Moody
explains, “Mrs. Claiborne had told me how smart I was and how much I could do if I
just had the chance” (Moody 90).
Can you explain some of the reasons why Toosweet and Mrs. Claiborne see Anne’s
future in a different way? How does Moody respond to this?
What does this say about the discrepancy in Blacks and Whites’ mindsets regarding
their place in society during this time period?
5. At the end of Chapter 7, Raymond and Toosweet decide to get married, but neither of them
seem too excited. In fact, they don't speak look or speak to each other while getting
dressed or on the way to Woodville, looking "very sad and sacred." Why do you think this is,
especially after how long Toosweet had been complaining to Raymond to get married?
6. What were Anne Moody’s first acts of calculated resistance to the southern racial
codes? Why do you think this was significant for Anne?
Growing Up White in the Jim Crow South - Part I
Group 8, McLaurin, Separate Pasts, pp. 1-88
Background:
McLaurin grew up in Wade, North Carolina, a village of about 1,000 people, during the 1940s and
1950s, when rumblings of racial prejudice were in the air, but before the tumultuous civil rights
struggles of the 1960s. The village was located in the heart of southeastern North Carolina's cotton
and tobacco country.
To begin discussion:
Autobiographers attempt to communicate with their readers through ”frames of significance.” That is,
they (autobiographers) often frame their recollections in ways that highlight what it is about their lives
they believe both significant to themselves and to their readers.
1. What were some of McLaurin’s “frames of significance” in his early life?
Why these significances and not others?
2. Please compare and describe the differences in “frames of significance” that Moody and
McLaurin employed in their autobiographies.
a. Think about how race, gender, socioeconomic status, and geography affected the way
they described their early lives.
3. Since most of you grew up in NC, how does McLaurin's experience compare to yours concerning
race relations in the area where you grew up?
Group Discussion Questions:
1. McLaurin harps on the fact that he worked in his grandfather's store during his
adolescence. Do you think his ideas about blacks in Wade would have been different had
he been significantly older while he worked in the store?
How might his age have affected or shaped his opinions and ideas about segregation and
racial differences at the time?
2. Based on the reading, what are the similarities, if any, between slavery and segregation in Wade
during the 1950's?
3. What is the DEEP significance of the incident of Bobo and the basketball?
4. McLaurin and his peers were not alone in playing in integrated sporting events during the time
frame. In fact, in 1944, a group of Duke medical students battled the NC Central Varsity squad in a
“Secret Game”, and then played a second game with the teams mixed.
In your opinion, what impact do you think sports have had in the shaping of race relations among
members of recent generations in the US?
Other Important Questions:
1. How does McLaurin's experience compare to yours concerning race relations in the area
where you grew up?
To what extent do you feel that these 'separate pasts' still affect the present?
2. Can you see some similarities between Anne Moody and Melton McLaurin’s
accounts?
Peoples’ ties to the land?
What is the significance of SES among Blacks and Whites in Wade, NC?
Church ties? (Presbyterian and Baptist)
3. In the book McLaurin expressed that there was more segregation in the urban setting where
in his rural residential area hosted a more integrated system.
Why do you think this is so? How do you think it affected his view of segregation?
4. McLaurin said that whites and blacks were forced to interact during the day, but were still
expected to abide by the black and white social codes. Which code do you personally
believe would be the most hard to follow? Would you hold any reservations about
participating in it?
5. In what ways did segregation maintain a dominant position for Wade's white residents?
Friday (February, 10th) - Growing Up White in the Jim Crow South - Part I
Group 9, McLaurin, Separate Pasts, pp. 42-110
Last Class Review:
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In your opinion, is Bobo’s chapter a symbolic representation of the Black community in
Wade?
Group Discussion Questions:
1. Why did Street make such an impression on a young McLaurin?
In your opinion, what is the symbolic significance of the Street’s chapter?
2. On page 54, Street says: "Preachers don't want their people to know the truth, they
need that fear to control their people boy. The truth will make you free though, just
like the Bible says, "You shall know the truth and it shall make you free (John 8:32)".
How does Street's sermon about false prophets relate to segregation? How does the
“tin can” incident relate to this idea?
Do you think that Street's pursuit of the truth has made him any freer?
3. In the Betty Jo’s chapter, McLaurin describes the sentiment of the town that black
females weren't as harshly judged for sexual promiscuity because they "... were
simply following their natural instincts."
In your opinion, what is the symbolic significance of Betty Jo’s chapter?
Why do you think that the White men of the community found it socially acceptable to
make lewd and sexually explicit comment about Black women?
Why was the idea of White women engaging in affairs with Black men taboo?
Where does this connotation come from that blacks are more sexually active? To
what extent is that rooted in the past? Is Celia’s story relevant to McLaurin’s
descriptions of Black females?
Why is the idea of the “Black Rapist” such an irony in McLaurin’s accounts?
Have you seen or experienced this sort of attitude?
In your opinion, do we still hold true the notion of the “Black Rapist” and the “White Virgin” or
“Southern Belle” in our society?
Other Important Questions:
1. In your opinion, what is the significance of the story about Charlotte?
Does it relate in any way to McLaurin’s incident with Bobo?
2. In your opinion, what is the symbolic significance of Sam’s chapter
How does this chapter provide a clear divergence from Street’s chapter?
3. Would you say that McLaurin's life is a testament to the power of human relationships
to overcome even the most ingrained systems of oppression?
Growing Up African American in the Jim Crow South - Part II
Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, pp. 121-214
Beginning exercise:
After reading the second section of Anne Moody’s book, please write one passage (i.e.
event/comment/thought/argument) that you found interesting in some way (i.e. that surprised you, made you
feel sad, appalled, moved, or intrigued). Then, write a paragraph describing why you chose this passage.
Group Discussion Questions:
1. Why was Emmet Till’s murder so significant in Anne Moody’s life? (Think about Moody coming
of age in Mississippi).
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How does Anne’s discovery of Emmett Till's death alter her perspective and understanding of her
social environment? In particular, how does this discovery of unwarranted killings of "Negroes" in
Mississippi shape her mentality toward her community; that of the Black and of the White?
What did she learn about herself?
What did she learn about the larger Black community? The NAACP?
What did she learn about Whites? The Guilt?
What was the purpose of Mrs. Burke in reminding Anne of Emmet’s murder?
2. What do you think about the change in Ms. Burke’s attitude toward Essie considering she asked for her
to help Wayne in the first place?
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What do you think of the way that Wayne acted towards her?
Why do you think they had such different responses to the situation?
Do you see any similarities between Wayne and McLaurin?
3. Moody says, almost sarcastically that "The young white housewife didn't dare leave one alone in the
house with her loyal and obedient husband." (Deputy Sheriff Fox and young Bess affair)
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What do you think this statement says about her views of White men and women in society?
4. Towards the end of chapter 12 and in chapter 13 Essie had a disconnect with Raymond and her
mother. Then, when Mrs.Burke came to ask Essie to work for her she talked to her like she would
any other person. This bothered her mother and this made Essie realize even more that her
actions bothered both her and Raymond.
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Do you believe that this is because to them Essie is going against the grain of unspoken
southern doctrine?
What changes took place in Anne after returning from Baton Rouge?
How did she challenge the social norms? (i.e. the way she talk to Whites, tutoring, etc…)
Why would Mrs. Burke ask Anne Moody to return to work for her?
Why would Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. Burke’s friend, hire Anne Moody?
Other Important Questions:
1. In Mrs. Burke’s home, Anne described the different views across three generations (Mrs. Crosby,
Mrs. Burke, and Wayne).
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Please describe these differences and how do they relate to the Old South and New South
argument?
2. Why were Jerry, Samuel O’ Quinn, and the Taplin family’s incidents important?
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What happened to them and how did this reflect racist ideals of this community?
How did this affect Black males in Centreville?
Compare Black men in Centreville with George in Celia’s story. Are there many differences?
3. Think about Anne’s relationship with Toosweet. Do you believe Toosweet knowingly provided Anne the
freedom she needed to develop a strong personality and willingness to succeed, or would you say that
the freedom Anne was provided was a consequence the dire economic situation she faced and her
development was a result of her own hard work
4. After returning from Baton Rouge:
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What were Mrs. Burke’s intentions for hiring Anne back? Why not hire someone else?
What were the intentions of Mrs. Hunt for hiring Anne at the Store?
What were Anne’s reactions? Who did she reveled and challenged social norms?
5. What was so significant about Anne tutoring Wayne and his friends? Think about social
relations.
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Anne mentioned: “The dinning room in Mrs. Burke’s house had come to mean many
different things to me. It symbolized hatred, love, and fear in many
variations” (p. 152).
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What does she mean by this?
What was ironic about Mrs. Burke being upset about the integration of schools?
6. Think about Moody and McLaurin’s account. Do you see any resemblance between characters? Think
about Anne and Street, and Wayne and McLaurin, Any others?
7. While Anne worked at the chicken factory, she described the tension that existed among Blacks?
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How does this compare with the tension White people felt when Blacks began migrating North?
Growing Up African American in the Jim Crow South - Part II
Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, CH 16 - CH17
Group Discussion Questions:
1. Moody turned to Ed Cassidy for help when Raymond and Mama wouldn't let her inside the house to
gather her clothes so she could leave. However, Moody recalls how she "hated him more than all the
whites in Centreville."
Do you think this situation is ironic? (Kelsey)
2. Why does Essie Mae think, "If there were more Emmas in this world, Negroes would be a whole lot
better off" and then her admiration for Emma disappears after Emma returns from the hospital? (Julie)
3. For Anne, what was so significant about Emma’s tragedy? What did Emma said that made Anne
begin to question the status quo.
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How did this influenced Anne’s perception of “separate but equal”?
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What is the connection she makes between Emma and Raymond?
Other Important Questions:
4. Why is Samuel O’ Quinn’s incident important?
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How did this affect Anne’s understanding of Black men in Centreville?
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How did this event affect Anne personally?
5. Think about how Anne Moody continued to challenge the system/social norms. Please give
some examples.
6. After the incident with Raymond, Anne’s relationships with Toosweet changed drastically. How so?
Growing Up White in the Jim Crow South-II
McLaurin, Separate Pasts, pp. 110-176
Background Information:
What do you think about McLaurin’s arguments that social norms were highly guarded because friendly or
permissive social exchanges would have destroyed segregation?
Discussion Questions:
1. McLaurin seems to use his grandfather, Lonnie Mac, to represent a variety of white attitudes
toward Blacks and towards Jim Crow.
Do you think he views Blacks as equals or as incapable?
What are some of these attitudes as embodied in Lonnie Mac? (Paternalism, economic
oppression, kindness, rebellious)
How does the incident of Vinnie Love bring some of them to the surface?
2. In your opinion, what drove Lonnie Mac’s decision to help Viny Love? (his pride, his dislike for
bureaucracy, sense of entitlement, belief on human rights, sense of injustice towards hard-working
people, or Viny Love’s inability to fight for her rights).
How does McLaurin made sense of Lonnie Mac subscribing to segregationist doctrines and racial
beliefs and, at the same time, helping Blacks in the community?
3. What was the importance of Jerry and Miss Carrie’s chapter? (McLaurin discusses the lack of
economic progress because blacks are not given enough opportunities and training, which
make Blacks incapable of participating in political and social institutions.) (pp. 151-152)
How did McLaurin's expectations of Miss Carrie's lifestyle and her actual living situation
differ?
How did McLaurin's realization of these differences expose the falsehoods that came with
"separate but equal"?
4. According to McLaurin, what is the significance of the incident with Dora Lou and Cooter?
What did he learn about the way some Black people think of Lonnie Mac? White residents?
5. Returning to the idea that there were more positive relations in the South that most people want to
admit, would you agree that McLaurin’s account is a good example of how close personal contact
produced situations that, to an extent, undermined segregationists’ norms?
6.
According to McLaurin, what is the significance of the incident between Elliot and Bill? (Who is
the ugliest?) (p.137)
7. What did McLaurin realized as he talked to Jerome about the Yankees breaking the color barrier?
(p. 145).
8. What impact did Jerry calling McLaurin "Mr. Milton" have on his psyche?
How did McLaurin's response convey his opinion on racism in general to Jerry?
9. What is the significance of Jimbo calling McLaurin “Milton”?
10. Can you briefly describe the impact of each character in shaping McLaurin’s views on
segregation? Lonnie Mac, Street, Merrill, his parents, Viny Love, Bobo, etc…
11. Are people US today experiencing separate lives that they will come to regard as separate pasts?
Think about systematic inequalities. Are they still thriving in a democratic America?
How can they be addressed?
The Civil Rights Movement: Jim Crow Challenged
Group 3, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (CH 5)
Group Questions:
1. Concerning those eight states that refused to eliminate segregation within the school systems
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia),
what do you think was the primary argument for insisting that schools remain segregated? Be sure
to consider all the other areas of those communities that were becoming if not already integrated.
(Tianna)
2. What were some ways that the South retaliated against the ruling of desegregation of
public schools (high school and below)? How did the South continue to ensure segregated
schools? (Mariah)
3. Why did the desegregation of schools receive such an outcry of opposition from Whites?
What do their proposed measures of private-school plans, etc. say about the perceived sanctity of
the institutions of education and family? (Sarah)
4. What were the tactics used by Civil Rights activists to challenge Jim Crow?
5. What was the role of the Judicial System during the civil rights movement?
6. What was the White South’s response to these challenges?
7. What were major shortcomings in Brown v. Board of Education?
8. The federal government always played a huge role in the presence of segregation, whether it
enforced laws of equality or turned a blind eye.
Do you think the Supreme Court had the constitutional right to force desegregation? “The powers
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” -10th Amendment
Do you think desegregation would have occurred without the continued presence of a federal
military presence?
What changes made it possible for the civil rights movement to succeed? Was it just the right time
for change?
9. On page 163, President Eisenhower states, "you cannot change people's hearts merely by
law." What is the significance of this quote for this time period and how does it relate to
our reading?
The Civil Rights Movement: Jim Crow Challenged
Group 4, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (CH 6)
Group Discussion Questions:
1. While there were many black people supporting either separatism or integration, what
class of black people were actually benefiting from or favoring segregation/Jim Crow? And
why? (Risa)
How were the people protesting outside the South different from this in the South?
How is this related to what happened in LA, Detroit, New York, etc…?
Why is this considered a new type of violence?
What were the main differences between the Civil Rights Movement in the South and
elsewhere? Think about the differences in the social environment people experienced at
the time.
What was the main ideological divide between the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) vs.
Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee (SNCC)?
2. In the 60's the Civil Rights Movement experienced several key victories, politically and socially;
the Voter Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act enacted by the Johnson administration helped to gain
legal rights for blacks. There was also the dismantling of Jim Crow laws. But in the late 60's-70's a
shift took place, many young blacks turned to a form of black nationalism that encouraged
separation and in some instances violence, over the nonviolent method of MLK; with the election
of Nixon, political support for the movement fell and more whites began to view any policy directed
at minorities as unjust. From Johnson to Nixon, from Civil Rights Act to "less government",
from nonviolence to nationalism, what do you believe caused these great shifts in
ideologies, and how are they all related? (Nicholas)
Marcus Garvey said: The only convenient friend of the Black worker or laborer in America at
present time is the White capitalist. Advocates of Black communities are
Blacks aspiring to administrative posts or clerical work.
What are your thoughts about Woodward’s notion that Black professionals, who had a
higher social status in the community, where the ones who benefited from the more radical
segregationist movement? Think about MLK and other CRM’s activists, and then critically
assess Woodward’s claims.
What were some of the factors that led to the final phase (or disenchantment) of the Civil
Rights Movement? (p.210).
A period called “Benign Neglect” began during the Nixon administration. How does this
period resemble the “Redemption Period” after the Civil War?
3. What is the difference between de facto and de jure school segregation?
How did these overlap in the north and south?
What did this mean for legislators and activists both for and against integration?
Other Important Questions:
4. What were some of the gains Black obtained after the CRM?
5. Busing of students attempted to correct the residential segregation that existed in public
schools.
What were the end results? Did we truly achieve school desegregation? Explain why.
Woodward mentioned that a “voluntary retreat to separate but equal” began to emerge. What
does Woodward means by this?
What are your thoughts about the recent decision to remove busing in Raleigh, NC?
African American Grievances and Goals in the Jim Crow Era
M.L. King, Jr., “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail.”
Group Discussion:
1. King focuses on the idea of injustice within a "just" society. “Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a
single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly..." King goes
on the state that no one within the U.S. can be an outside, contradicting the Alabama
clergymen.
What does this mean for Black middle-class and professionals?
What does this mean for White moderate and Church? Why was he disappointed?
How does King answer to the charge of being an outsider?
How did MLK respond to being labeled extremist?
Is it fair to say that anyone who lives inside the U.S. cannot be considered and/or feel like
an outsider? Do we see the threat of injustice still today?
2. Throughout his letter MLK uses several references to biblical defiance of laws in-order to protest
unjust laws.
In his letter, MLK uses religious analogies/references when describing his role in Birmingham.
(MLK = Apostle Paul)
Why is this important? Think about MLK’s audience. (Kevin)
Class Discussion:
3. What are the four basic steps of nonviolent direct action? For each of the steps state the
example in Birmingham.
4. In “Eyes on the Prize,” politicians described the movement as “untimely.” However, in his letter,
MLK addresses this issue. What does he say about calling the demonstrations “untimely”?
5. What does King mean by “constructive nonviolent tension,” and what is its goal?
6. King describes two types of law, just and unjust. How does he differentiate between the two?
7. Why is segregation an unjust law?
Can you give present examples of unjust laws that you feel a moral obligation to disobey? Would
you be willing to accept the consequences?
8. Breaking an unjust law lovingly? Why does MLK think this would be an expression of respect for the
law?
9. What does King warn will happen if the Black Community is not allowed to demonstrate through
nonviolent actions?
10. The paragraph below is another of King’s well known statements.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the
oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a
direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered
unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It
rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always
meant “Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice
too long delayed is justice denied."
Can you find an example from US history that represents the “painful experience that
freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor.”
Moreover, find another example that illustrates his point that “justice too long delayed is
justice denied.”
11. Can you connect MLK writing to your life or issues in your community today?