Coming of Age in Mississippi is the story of a young African American girl’s life during a major time of racial conflict in America. Anne Moody fights the power of segregation through her adolescent years and documents her childhood in a very descriptive way. However, by the end of the memoir Moody felt old and tired and was unable to join other activists who were singing, “We Shall Overcome.” The experiences early on in Moody’s life left her tired of fighting and irritated with the Civil Rights Movement and Moody was left skeptical of essential alteration in America. Moody was tired of fighting for civil rights because Moody’s struggles as a child eventually wore out her persistence, Moody began to lose her resiliency to keep pace when Emmitt …show more content…
Emmitt Till challenges the resiliency of Moody more than anything else leading up to this point. Emmitt Till was a fourteen year old African American boy and was from Chicago. Till visited Mississippi and reportedly whistled or snapped at a white woman while visiting Mississippi. Till was murdered by white men and helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. Moody is incredibly sickened by this story. Till was close to Moody’s age and is very relatable since she lived in Mississippi as well. Moody is bedridden for weeks and cannot recover from this tragedy that terrorizes her. Moody does not sleep or go to work for weeks. This event proves valuable in Moody’s life because it is the first time Moody does not bounce back quickly and show her resilient passion in her …show more content…
Moody began working for the Civil Rights Movement full time with the NAACP. Moody works with dozens of prominent leaders in African American progress such as Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King. Moody is stationed in Mississippi, one of the worst states for racism. Moody is employed by the NAACP in the town of Canton, Mississippi. Moody works for specifically for the foundation of voter registration. Moody works incredibly hard and is extremely devoted in the fight for Civil Rights at this point. Moody begins to worry as people are murdered every day for the very same things Moody is doing. Moody never gets to see her family and her family will not speak to Moody because of fear of being murdered because of Moody’s efforts in the Civil Rights Movement. Moody starts to question if it is worth it. Moody receives several threats from the Klu Klux Klan and is listed on their blacklist which pushes Moody to a breaking point. Moody finally is broken by the Civil Rights Movement and begins to ponder if things will ever really change in