Coming of Age in America

“Before Emmett Till’s murder, I had known fear of hunger, hell and the Devil. But now there was a new fear known to me—the fear of being killed just because I was black. This was the worst of my fears. I knew once I got food, the fear of starving to death would leave. I also was told that if I were a good girl, I wouldn’t have to fear the Devil or hell. But I didn’t know what one had to do or not do as a Negro not to be killed. Probably just being Negro period was enough, I thought.”

-Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, 1968