Anne Moody's Coming Of Age In Mississippi

Coming of Age in Mississippi entails the early life of Anne Moody, an African-American women growing up in rural Mississippi. Within her book, Anne illustrates the struggles she endures up to her early adult life. Moody’s experiences growing up gave her conflicted emotions about the dissatisfaction and intolerance that plagued the South. Rather than becoming a victim of circumstance, the racial lessons she learns growing up in Mississippi propel her to become an activist for civil rights.
Anne Moody had a difficult childhood due to her family living in a rural county in Mississippi marked by extreme poverty and racism. Having to work at a young age to support her family, she experienced the social significance of race through her interactions at school and with her employers such as Mrs. Burke. Becoming a participant and an observer of her surroundings, Moody is able to grasp the role that racism, as well as the notion of black inferiority, plays within the South. Mrs. Burke, a well known racist, develops a tense relationship with Anne,

The African-American community faced racial injustice in many forms such as low paying jobs, inadequate schools, and disenfranchisement. Moody not only experienced racial prejudice from whites, but also from the African American population. When Raymond’s mother, Miss Pearl, gives Mama the cold shoulder because she is darker skinned, this leaves an astonishing impression on Anne. The imprints of racial prejudice on Moody were instilled in her until she met individuals like Miss Ola, Linda Jean Jenkins, or Mrs. Burke’s Mother, who treated Anne with respect. It is brought to light again later in her life when she almost turns down a scholarship to Tugaloo because she fears that the mulatto students will mistreat her. Ultimately, racial prejudice almost costs Anne from taking significant opportunities presented to