Analysis Of The Autobiography Coming Of Age In Mississippi By Anne Moody

The United States of America, the land of the free. Mostly free if the skin tone matches with the approval of society. The never-ending war on racism, equality, and segregation is a huge part of American culture. Prior to the Civil Rights Movement equality was laughed at. People of color were highly discriminated and hated for existing. During the years 1950 up until 1970, racism began to extinguish its mighty flames. Through the lives of numerous people equality, would soon be a reality. The Autobiography Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody, it takes the readers through first person accounts of all the racism, social prejudice and violence. The autobiography holds nothing back, allowing the author to give insight on all the appalling

While Moody does not question that race and racism are real, she shows how ridiculous racial distinctions are. During her childhood, whites would publicly argue that blacks were genetically inferior. Beginning to question difference Anne examines her white friends. She explains, “I examined each of them about three times, but I didn’t see any difference” (Moody 35) Moody comes to the realization that they are the same in every way except for the color of their skin. Anne’s mother is discriminated against because of her dark skin, “…the fact she was a couple shades darker than the other members of their family. Yet they were Negroes and we were also Negroes.”(Moody 59) The fact that so many blacks have at least some white ancestry serves to show to what extent they will go to prove they are white. Thus African Americans began dividing into lighter skin factions versus darker skin factions. The social prejudice characters show to one another because of their skin color is upsetting. Although the same, they treat each other with disrespect because of an inferiority

The murder is soon widespread throughout the town, “they had only to look at a white woman and be hanged for it. Emmett Till’s murder had proved it was a crime, punishable by death , for a Negro man to even whistle at a white woman in Mississippi” (Moody 139) The murder of Emmitt Till would be the beginning of Moody’s transformation into a civil rights activist because she is bothered by the idea of two grown men murdering a fourteen year old boy. Her reaction of this event shapes her way of thinking. The second major event would be the Woolworth Sit in. Anne Moody recalls the event by giving a first person account, “we began to read to her from our order slips. She told us that we would be served at the back counter, which was for Negroes. ‘We would like to be served here I said’” (Moody 287). The Woolworth Sit-in was one of the most violent sit-ins, resulting in a white mob attacking the peaceful protestors, thus showing to what extent these people would go to maintain their racist segregated ways of living. Attempting to tie a noose around her neck, beatings, and condiments were thrown at her as she sat there peacefully. Anne Moody really puts in in perspective of how it was being an African American during this