Ivan Rojas

HIST 1302
Ms. Chandler
April 7, 2016

Coming of Age in Mississippi

The Coming of Age in Mississippi was written by Anne Moody and takes place through
the 1960s during the pre-civil rights era in the South. Coming of Age in Mississippi is the
autobiography of an Anne Moody growing up poor and black in the rural south. We often hear
that the civil rights activists played a higher role in establishing the civil rights than the actual
government, but the story of Moodys life is a solid proof of how the enthusiastic and young
minorities helped changed the lives of thousands with their courage. Just like the Chicago
Tribune states, the autobiography is an eloquent, moving testimonial to her courage, and how she
became the courage for thousands of others.
One of the amazing things about Coming of Age in Mississippi is the amount of issues
covered as well as the many little themes that make up this autobiography into an amazing story.
We start off getting a glimpse of Annes and her familys life in poverty. Which is where one of
the important themes of this book comes along: poverty and famine. Its implied that things are
already hard as they are being African Americans, which is why theyre limited to a poor
lifestyle. Ever since, Anne Moody was young, she had always wanted to learn about the reasons
for difference in their financial states. A question she always wondered was why whites were
well off, while on the other hand, they didnt even make enough money to buy new school
clothes and it would be a miracle if they were able to keep their stomachs even a little satisfied
in order not to starve to death that winter whenever she was just a child (pg.90).
The main conflict that takes over this whole book is racial inequality. It was sad to realize
that Anne lived through an era where people have just learned to accept the inequality despite of

the way theyre being treated or even killed. Anne Moody was a courageous individual who
wouldnt accept the way things are, rather she wanted to become the one to change their ways of
life. As we see in the book that when Anne gets accepted to Tugaloo, she fears that if she attends
that college, shell face racism more than ever not only that but she was also afraid that those
students would murder her in class (pg.260). What is displayed here is that the way blacks are
treated is so bad, that it even causes barriers for one to receive their education, a right that
African Americans just like any other white student should have.
One of the main causes that forces Anne to join the civil rights movement is the standard
of her life. In the book, every minute of every semester, Anne has to worry regarding the money
she has left and whether shell be able to afford food, and such. Her conditions were an
awakening call that the reason African Americans live the way they live is because they lack
opportunities due to racial inequality and that causes her to eventually join the movement, even
though the organizations she joins were banned in her state Mississippi. However, all the things
or steps she took towards fighting for equality were lacking support from her family, and that
leads to another cause of her decision to be part of the movement.
As she tells the story of her life, we realize that her father isnt really a big part of her
family, and her mother is so caught up in her own issues of marriage and such, that even the
thought of fighting for her own kind has never even crossed her mind. In the book, Anne
describes that she received letters from her mom only to tell her if she didnt stop that sh*t she
will never be able to come home again and she would come to Tougaloo and kill her herself
(pg.284-285). Whereas rather than attempting to discourage her from the movement those letters
only gave Anne further strength to fight more, and later in the book we find that she becomes an
important part of an organization known as the NAACP whos mission was no less than to

abolish all forms of segregation and to increase educational opportunities for African Americans.
(Newman 2014, 444). Afterwards she spontaneously decides to sit-in at a bus stop and almost
gets herself killed by an angry white mob. She participates in many protests thereafter and works
with many famous black empowerment leaders such as Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King.
(Newman 2014, 588-589).
I think what Moody is trying to convey to the readers in this book is that a lot of people
dont realize the hardships African Americans had to face to be where we are today. Instead of
hearing it from someone who knows their history, we get to see the history through the emotions
of the victims, were she teaches us that its rather important to stand up for what we believe in. I
think that Anne gets the details of the lives of Blacks, and the hardships they had to face through
the book really clearly. The only thing I think she could have explained further is whether the
movement made a difference in her life from when she was young to the time she was in college.
I really enjoyed reading Coming of Age in Mississippi due to the fact that it was very
inspiring and touching book that was able to captivate my attention from start to finish. I would
recommend this book to a friend because it is a very fascinating book and just a great read that
even a not as passionate history student as myself highly enjoyed. Whereas if I could ever meet
Anne Moody I would like to ask her what was the toughest obstacle she had to face throughout
the movement as well as know if she ever reconciled with her mother.

Bibliography
Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi. New York City: Dell Publishing, 1968.
Chandler, Kimberly. Civil Rights 1940s-1950s Lecture Notes, History 1302 from HAIS,
Houston, March 24, 2016.
Chandler, Kimberly. Civil Rights 1950s-1960s Lecture Notes, History 1302 from HAIS,
Houston, March 29, 2016.
Newman, John, John M. Schmalbach. The Eisenhower Years, 1952-1960. Chap.27 in United
States History Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3rd ed. Des Moines:
Perfection Learning Corp, 2014. 587-590.
Newman, John, John M. Schmalbach. Promise and Turmoil, the 1960s. Chap.28 in United
States History Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. 3rd ed. Des Moines:
Perfection Learning Corp, 2014. 607.