Name: Rowena H. Tatel Phone no.: 09056388098 Email address: tap_wheng16@yahoo.com No. of pages: 11 pages

“COMING OF AGE IN MISSISSIPPI”

Part 1: Chapter 1

Four-year-old Essie Mae lives in a two-room shack with her father, mother, and younger sister. Her parents do all they can to make the structure comfortable for the family, but most of the decorations consist of mismatched bits of wallpaper stuck up with tacks and pieces of cardboard stuffed in the cracks. Essie Mae's parents work in the fields from daylight to dark all week except Sundays. While her parents are working, Essie Mae and her little sister, Adline, are watched by George Lee, Essie Mae's eight-year-old uncle. George Lee sets fire to the house one afternoon, but Essie Mae is blamed for the fire and is beaten by her father.
Essie Mae's father spends his free time gambling, and begins to see a mulatto woman named Florence. Even though Essie Mae's Mama engages in physical fights with her husband, he continues to see the other woman. #

Part 1: Chapter 2

While Essie Mae's mother works at the cafy, Essie Mae is in charge of caring for her younger sister and brother. Their house is located near a swamp and snakes often come up out of the swamp to the house. Their mother decides that it is not safe for the children to be home alone, and her brother Ed comes to look after them. One day Ed takes them to his house. Essie Mae is dying to see where Ed lives and to visit her Grandma Winnie. She is also anxious to see Ed's younger brothers, Sam and Walter, whom she has never met before. When two young white boys come running up to great her, Essie Mae is shocked to discover that her mother has white siblings. She is unable to understand how such a thing could happen since her mother, Ed, and Grandma Winnie are all very dark-skinned. #

Part 1: Chapter 3

Toosweet quits her job as a domestic and the family moves two miles down the road. Toosweet starts working for another white family who lets them live in a house on their property. Essie Mae likes this house the best because it is made of new boards and has a new toilet. She also thinks that they have a position of honor because they are the only black family in the neighborhood.
Essie Mae, Adline, and Junior spend their time sitting out front in a trench watching the white children ride their bikes. The white children become intrigued when they hear Essie Mae making Indian noises and the two groups of children become friends. When all the children go to the movies together, Essie Mae gets in trouble for trying to go into the main theatre with the white children instead of upstairs to the balcony. #

Part 1: Chapter 4

The house Raymond builds is five rooms and has a green frame and a gray porch. They still do not have indoor plumbing, but the water line has been run to the house and Raymond promises to add on a bathroom soon. Mama and Essie Mae go to town to buy furniture and wallpaper for the house. When Essie Mae asks for a white post bed like Miss Ola's, Toosweet tells her not to want everything that white people have and that the Claiborne's have ruined Essie Mae. Once the family is settled into their new home, Raymond brings James, who is four years old, to live with them.
Essie Mae, Adline, and Junior quickly make friends with Raymond's family, but Miss Pearl and the rest of Raymond's family refuse to accept Toosweet. When the children start school again, Toosweet pushes Essie Mae to do better than Raymond's sister Darlene. #

Part 1: Chapter 5

Her mother toosweet used to attend Mount Pleasant Church, but when the family moves in to Raymond's house, Mount Pleasant is too far away. Toosweet decides that she will try attending Centreville Baptist where Miss Pearl goes to church in hopes of getting on Miss Pearl's good side. Essie Mae likes Centreville Baptist because the sermons are not as long as at Mount Pleasant and she loves hearing the choir sing. However, Essie Mae does not like the way all the women cry when the pastor preaches and she is appalled to learn that the preacher was once in prison. Mama does not return to Centreville Baptist, but Essie Mae, Adline, and Junior continue to attend Sunday school, church services, and Baptist Training, in order to show Miss Pearl that they are just as good as her own kin.For several months Toosweet hints that she would like to go back to Mount Pleasant because of Raymond’s Family they never try to talked Toosweet. #

Part 1: Chapter 6

Raymond decides that he wants to become a big time farmer. He buys an old mule and rents a strip of land. At the beginning it seems that all is going well, but one morning Raymond storms into the house and drops something on the table. He tells the family that the object is an old hand grenade and that the lower portion of the field is no good because its full of old army equipment.
Essie Mae is still working for Mrs. Claiborne but knows that she will have to quit when school is out in order to work in the field. Mama and Raymond spend days praying for rain to help the cotton grow while Essie Mae prays just as much that the seeds will die. When school ends, the entire family goes out to the field to work at tending the small cotton plants. #

Part 1: Chapter 7

When the school year begins, Essie Mae is upset because they have to go in their old clothes. She hurries around trying to secure another job, but no one seems to need any housekeeping help. One day Mama tells the children to hurry up and eat so that they can go to Mr. Wheeler's farm and pick pecans. For two days in a row, the family picks pecans and Mr. Wheeler gives them half of all they pick. Mama and Raymond drive to Woodville where they can get a better price for the pecans and come back with one hundred and twenty dollars - enough to buy new school clothes.
Essie Mae takes a job with the Jenkins family looking after their young daughter, Donna. Mrs. Jenkins notices that Essie Mae is uncomfortable calling her "Mrs." And tells Essie Mae to call her Linda Jean instead. Because of that Mrs. Jenkins was angry with Essie Mae and she reduced her wages. #

Part 1: Chapter 8

The following summer Raymond tries farming again and Essie is only able to work for Mrs. Jenkins on the weekends. Once again, the family has no money for new school clothes and Essie is forced to start school in last year's clothes, even though she has gained some weight and everything is tight on her. At first, the other children make fun of her, but then the other girls notice how the boys pay attention to Essie's new curves and they start wearing tight clothes on purpose.
In the fall Mrs. Willis, Essie's teacher, announces that they will be having a competition for Homecoming Queen. Each grade picks a queen to ride in the parade before the football game and when the eighth grade votes are counted, Essie is one of three eighth grade queens. In order to break the tie, the girls are divided into three groups and after that competition Essie Mae was win she become a Queen to their school.#

Part 1: Chapter 9

Towards the end of the school year, Essie has to bring her birth certificate to school for their records. However, Essie's records and those of her brother and sister were burned up when Junior set fire to the house. When the birth certificate arrives from Jackson, it states that Essie's real name is Annie Mae. Mama is upset and tries to get the name changed, but Essie fights to keep the new name and Mama finally relents. At school, the kids continue to call her Moody and at home, Mama will not let the other children call her anything but Essie.
That summer Raymond gives up farming and heads to California to find work. Jobs for Negro men are extremely scarce in Mississippi, but after a month, Raymond has had no luck and returns home. Times are extremely tough and Mama is pregnant with her seventh child. #

Part 2: Chapter 10

Shortly after Anne begins high school, the reality of racial violence hits home. A local fourteen-year-old boy named Emmet Till is killed by a group of white men. Anne is shocked by the news, but even more shocked that she has been oblivious to the things happening around her. Mama tells Anne to continue working as though nothing has happened, but Anne is unable to concentrate at Mrs. Burke's. She breaks several dishes and is sent to scrub the bathtub while the family eats. Mrs. Burke eventually approaches Anne about Emmet Till's death and Anne tries to play dumb. Mrs. Burke tells Anne that this is what happens to black people who get out of line with whites. For the first time Anne fears for her life simply because she is black. Shortly after Emmet Till's death, Anne goes to work and finds that Mrs. Burke is having a meeting she heard talked about the organisation of the black people but Mrs. Burke saw Essie Mae was listening and she sent her to clean the toilet.#

Part 2: Chapter 11

Following Emmet Till's death, Mrs. Burke and the Guild increase their efforts to organize whites in the area. As the popularity of the Guild grows, the blacks in the area start to hear about happenings that they never knew were going on. One of the most talked about subjects is how many white men have black mistresses. A sting operation is even staged to catch the sheriff in bed with his black lover. Even more outrageous is the fact that black men are taking white lovers. This news spreads like wildfire and black men are accused of wrongdoing simply for looking in the direction of a white woman.
One of Anne's classmates, Jerry, is beaten up by the sheriff for supposedly making obscene phone calls to a white operator. Shortly after this incident something more terrible occurs. In the middle of the night, Anne is awakened by voices outside their house she heard crying out because a house is burning, one of black family in their place. #

PArt 2: Chapter 12

Anne arrives in Baton Rouge expecting to make big moneyworking for the white folks in town. However, her first job turns sour when the family can only afford to pay her three dollars a day and then leaves town without paying Anne for two weeks worth of work. A friend of Anne's gets her a job working in Ourso's Department Store. Anne has to lie about her age in order to get the position, but since she does such excellent work, her employers never question her. Another woman working at the store befriends Anne and Anne tells her the truth about her age. The following day Anne is dismissed from work and she realizes that the woman was jealous and was trying to get Anne fired. #

Part 2: Chapter 13

Mrs. Burke comes looking for Anne to see if she will return to work for her. Anne agrees to come back but says she will start the following week after she has gotten her school things together. Mama is appalled that Anne would talk to Mrs. Burke in such a manner. Anne notices that Mama's attitude is different now and that Raymond also acts differently around her. However, she is unable to figure out exactly what has happened so she continues to put her plan into place.
When school starts, Anne joins the band and the basketball team. After school, she works for Mrs. Burke and when she comes home, she helps Adline and the rest of the children with their homework. She also takes piano lessons twice a week and teaches Sunday school and Baptist Training on Sundays. All of Anne's activities keep her busy all the waking hours. #

Part 2: Chapter 14

Anne spends an entire month looking for a job in Baton Rouge without any luck. Frustrated with the lack of opportunity, Anne decides to head home. The day before she is to leave an old friend contacts her about a job working in a chicken factory. Anne becomes excited by the prospect of earning as much as seventy-five dollars a day and goes along for an interview.
Anne is disgusted by the work she does at the chicken factory. She is first put on an assembly line pulling the guts out of the chickens as they whiz past on hooks overhead. Before long, the foreman moves her but Anne has trouble keeping from getting sick at each station she is put at. That night Anne vows not to return to the chicken factory, but when morning comes, she is waiting outside for a ride. Anne works in the chicken factory to grow its income. #

Part 2: Chapter 15

Anne returns to high school but quickly becomes bored with the petty routine of the other students. She maintains her A average with minimal effort and throws herself into her extracurricular activities. Anne is earning four dollars a week playing piano at church and she continues to work for Mrs. Hunt.
Towards the end of the school year, the school stages a Gymnastics and Tumbling Night. Anne excels during the presentation and is praised by her mother for possessing such abilities. A few weeks later the school Stunt Night is scheduled. Anne prepares two performances. The first is a play that she wrote about teenage girls tricking their mothers, and is a hit. The second performance does not receive such a warm reception. Anne and seven other girls perform an African dance dressed in bikini bottoms, crepe-paper skirts, and paper bras. The principal scrambles to herd the girls off stage. #

Part 2: Chapter 16

Anne's new appearance attracts the attention of the boys in her class as well as several men around town. One of the men attracted to Anne is her basketball coach, Mr. Hicks. Mama encourages Anne to be nice to Mr. Hicks, and Anne realizes that Mama wants her to marry the coach. One day a fight breaks out between Anne and another girl on the team. After a week of cooling off, the girls reconcile and Mr. Hicks stops treating Anne differently from the rest of the girls on the team. However, Raymond now acts uncomfortable around Anne and she often sees him staring at her through her bedroom window.
Samuel O'Quinn is murdered several weeks later. He is killed by a shotgun blast to the back at close range. His death brings all Anne's repressed memories of the other killings to the surface. He accused that he was one of the leaders of an organization of black people against white people. #

Part 2: Chapter 17

One Sunday evening as Anne, her father, and Emma are getting ready for bed they hear screams coming from next door. As they run next door to Janie's house, they see Wilbert, Janie's husband, trying to get in the house with a shotgun in his hands. Emma runs inside and helps Janie and the children try to bar the door shut. Wilbert steps back from the door, aims the shotgun, and shoots. A moment later Emma is heard moaning and Daddy rushes inside to help her. Daddy emerges with a blood-covered Emma and loads her in a truck to take to the hospital. The incident seems to shake the life back into Wilbert, who quickly jumps in the car with Janie to follow Daddy to the hospital.
The next morning Emma's brother Clift arrives to take Anne to the hospital in Centreville to spend the day with Emma.

Part 3: Chapter 18

After graduating, Anne heads for New Orleans hoping to work in the restaurant again to earn money for college. However, the restaurant business is slow and Anne isn't making as many tips as the previous summer. Out of money and worried about her future, Anne contacts her former basketball coach who tells her that she could probably get a basketball scholarship to a school in Mississippi. In late August, Anne hears from the coach at Natchez College. He has accepted her on the team and she will be receiving a full-tuition scholarship to Natchez.
When Anne arrives at Natchez, she is disappointed by the appearance of the dilapidated campus. The basketball team with its tall girls is just as scary to Anne until she realizes that her high school coach has built up her reputation so much that the other girls are afraid of her. #

Part 3: Chapter 19

Anne returns to Natchez when she realizes that she cannot afford to attend school elsewhere. The second year brings a new change: the discovery that boys are attracted to her. By now, Anne is twenty years old and has never been kissed. She begins paying more attention to the boys on campus, especially the ones on the boys' basketball team.
One boy in particular catches her eye. His name is Keemp and all the girls think he is the best looking. Anne does not find him especially attractive, but she is impressed with his ability on the basketball court. It is not long before Keemp and Anne begin dating. They sit together on the bus to away games and Keemp begs Anne to kiss him. Anne is reluctant at first but soon realizes that she will have to kiss Keemp if she is to keep him as her boyfriend. #

Part 3: Chapter 20

Anne is excited about attending a new college, but her spirits are dampened when other students tell her that Tougaloo College is for light-skinned rich Negroes. Anne begins to worry that Tougaloo is out of her league. While working in New Orleans for the summer she considers attending L.S.U. When September comes, Anne enrolls in Tougaloo. During her first night on campus Anne is still worried that she will not fit in, but the following morning when she sees the school in the daylight she is astounded by the beautiful campus.
In order to make a good impression, Anne decides to enter a campus talent show. She finds a few other students who are good at tumbling and puts together a gymnastics routine for the show. The group is awarded first prize. The Dean of the College is so impressed with Anne's ability that he tries to get her to joins the organization the NAACP. #

Part 3: Chapter 21

Shortly after Anne joins the NAACP, Medgar Evers comes to campus to give a speech. When several other students are arrested following a demonstration, the entire campus rallies behind them. The event spills over onto the football field and lasts long into the night. Anne becomes so involved in the NAACP that her grades fall. By mid-terms she barely has a one-point average and she is also running out of money. Anne must attend summer school to make up some credits, but the only way she can do that is to qualify for a student loan. Anne manages to secure a loan for one hundred and fifty dollars and is determined to make the money last her through the summer.
Over the summer, a new student named Joan Trumpauer moves in across the hall. Joan works for the SNCC and the two girls quickly become friends. Anne accompanies Joan on the organization. #

Part 3: Chapter 22

The following February the NAACP holds a convention in Jackson, Mississippi. Anne gets so excited about the scheduled speakers that she sends a pamphlet about the convention to her mother. Mama sends a letter back covered in dried up tears pleading with Anne to stay away from the NAACP. Mama says that if Anne doesn't stop her nonsense that she will be unable to come home again. Anne is upset by Mama's letter, but she attends the convention anyway.
Anne is unable to graduate because some of her credits from Natchez still have not cleared. Nonplussed, Anne decides to stay on campus and work with the Movement. She does not have enough money for bus fare to New Orleans and she is not welcome at home. Anne has become friendly with one of her professors, John Salter. She begins working closely with him as he stages sit-in demonstrations around town. #

Part 3: Chapter 23

When a CORE office opens up in Canton, Mississippi, a hot spot of racial violence, Anne signs up to work at the office. Many of her friends are concerned for her welfare, but Anne is ready for a change of scenery and ready to face whatever lies ahead. Anne arrives in Canton and is immediately introduced to the Chinn's. C.O. Chinn and his wife own a cafy and are a very well-respected couple in the community. The Chinn's have already been targeted by the whites in the area, but they also have a loyal group of teenagers who help to canvass the area. Anne is amazed that the Negroes have so much trouble when they outnumber the whites three to one and own just about the same amount of land. Mrs. Chinn explains that the government sets the amount of land allowed to be utilized for profit by each person. #

Part 3: Chapter 24

At the end of summer is the March on Washington. Anne rides to Washington with Reverend King, his wife, Joan Trumpauer, and Bob. The ride up is slightly tense since only Bob and Anne are black and an integrated car could be dangerous depending on where they stop. Anne is disappointed with the march and the following speeches. Anne was hoping to hear a lot of speeches from strong leaders, but instead all she hears are men with dreams. On the ride back, Anne is the only black in the car and she is nervous about crossing through Alabama. Reverend King considers this fact as well and they stay in a Federal Park in Tennessee. The drive goes well and the group arrives back in Canton around 6 P.M.

Part 3: Chapter 25

When school starts in the fall, Anne realizes just how poor the people of Canton are. Many of the families cannot purchase new school clothes for their children. Anne is reminded of her own childhood and is determined to help out the area families. Several CORE workers visit a chapter of the SNCC nearby in an attempt to get clothing donations. In the meantime, Anne receives her first pay check from CORE. Anne takes her check and buys clothes for two girls living across the street. When Anne returns from her shopping spree she learns that a shipment of clothing will be arriving next week.
For a week Anne works separating the boxes of clothing and preparing to distribute them. As she works, she becomes upset. Her twenty-third birthday is approaching but there is no joy in the occasion. She can no longer go home. #

Part 3: Chapter 26

A young girl named Lenora moves into the house after being kicked off the plantation where her family lives. She, like Anne, became enraged following the killing of the young girls in Birmingham and the plantation owner asked her to leave. When Lenora discovers the cake and ice cream still in the freezer from Anne's birthday, Anne suggests they throw a party in an attempt to rally the local teenagers. The party is a success and seems to bolster Anne's spirits as well.
A few days later, Anne is ready to distribute the clothes to local families. Anne is at first disgusted to see the mass of people standing outside waiting for a free handout. When they open the doors, people flood in grabbing whatever they can find. At the end of the day there are barely any pieces of cloth left. Anne is even more frustrated that people are. #

Part 3: Chapter 27

It is very late when Anne arrives in New Orleans. She goes to Grandma Winnie's house, but when Winnie hears that it is Anne, she turns Anne away. Anne goes to her Uncle George Lee's house where her sister Adline is staying. George Lee is happy to have Anne stay with them. She collapses on the pull-out sofa and sleeps until nine o'clock the next night. Anne sleeps for an entire day and still does not feel rested. She decides that she needs to get a job and find a place of her own.
Anne secures a job at the old restaurant on Maple Hill. A few weeks later, Anne and Adline have enough money saved to put down a deposit on a small apartment. Anne's brother Junior lives with Grandma Winnie just around the corner, so he comes over just about every night. #

Part 3: Chapter 28

A week after President Kennedy's assassination, Anne decides that she needs to get re-involved with the Movement. She contacts a friend with the New Orleans CORE chapter and begins canvassing for voter registration. She soon realizes that getting Negroes in New Orleans to register is just as difficult as getting Negroes in Mississippi to vote. The biggest difference is that whites and blacks can canvass together without threat of violence.
Junior goes home to Centreville but returns a few days later in the middle of the night. He tells Adline and Anne that Emma's brother Clift has been killed. Junior says that now five Negroes have been killed in the past three months and none of the murders have been solved. Anne is unable to cry for Clift and realizes that she has seen so much death recently that she is unable to cry. Anne sends a letter to Emma to asked her helped. #

Part 3: Chapter 29

The next morning, when Anne arrives in Canton, she sees Mrs. Chinn. Anne learns that they are expecting about five hundred adults to march and there are eight hundred high school students ready to march if the adults are stopped. Cops, some of whom appear to be whites pulled off the streets and deputized, line the streets. Anne spots the cop who used to follow her around Canton and he follows her as she walks toward a church. Inside the church Anne is astounded by the number of students who have turned out to support the march. Her spirits are lifted and she feels a returning sense of hope.
Back at the march's headquarters, the adults are preparing to begin their march. They have been granted permission to stage their demonstration but only if they walk two at a time and leave ten minutes' walking distance between each pair. #

Part 3: Chapter 30

Anne ends up staying in New Orleans only a few days because she has no way of making money. When Anne arrives back in Canton, she goes to visit Mrs. Chinn. Mrs. Chinn tells her that C.O. has been put in jail and she is losing hope. Anne takes a walk around Canton and sees Mr. Chinn walking with a chain gang. He tries to appear happy when he sees Anne, but the image of Mr. Chinn on the chain gang disheartens her.
When Anne gets back to the COFO office there is a bus out front. Bob Moses sticks his head out and hails Anne. He asks her to accompany them to Washington so that she can testify with them. Anne boards the bus and takes a seat next to a twelve-year-old boy. As the bus pulls out of town, the people begin singing, "We Shall Overcome". Anne’s wonder if blacks will ever really overcome racism. #