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Analysis Of Coming Of Age In Mississippi By Anne Moody

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“Coming of Age in Mississippi” by Anne Moody is an autobiography of Anne Moody (also known as Essie Mae Moody when younger) in 1940s to 1960s, where African-Americans still faced racial discrimination and segregation. After Moody experienced and saw how whites were harming and condescending the African Americans and how most African Americans did nothing to stop them throughout her life, she decided to participate in protests for African Americans’ civil rights. Readers should pay attention to what Moody had to say in this book because she experienced the harshness of racial discrimination and segregation firsthand, had the courage to go against of how whites treated African Americans despite she could be harmed, and had to deal with African …show more content…

For example, Moody and the SNCC tried to get more African Americans to register to vote by visiting their churches, but then more African Americans stop going to church to the point the ministers don’t want the SNCC to come back. They did not want to register to vote as it would harm their livelihood (Moody, 275-276). This conveys how most African Americans were complacent in their current situation as they were living fine even with the racial discrimination and segregation. They did not want to risk what they were able to get in life in spite of the whites suppressing them. Another example is Adline, Moody’s sister, sent a letter to Moody, telling her about how her actions being in the civil rights movement caused the family trouble as her brother, Junior, almost got lynched, her uncle, Buck, got beaten up, and her mom was in fear of being attacked during the night (Moody, 299). Moody now understands the consequences of being in the movement as not just harming herself but also harming her family. Her family sees no benefit in joining the cause as they don’t want to lose anyone. This illustrates how while the civil rights have help projecting the African Americans’ voice to get civil rights, it has created a split between Africans Americans who want to act on their ideals for freedom and who are fine with what they have to protect themselves. Lastly, after the church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four girls, African Americans began to avoid Moody’s office and every time she pass by one of them, they gave a look “...and almost said, ‘Get out of here. You’ll get us killed.’” (Moody, 349). This illustrates African Americans’ fear of being killed and their desperation to go back to their normal lives. Although the bombing was not directly involved in the civil rights efforts, it is related to how the

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