The Tables Have Turned

            
             Mississippi during this time period of World War II through the 1960s is known as a closed society. Traditions of white supremacy celebrate, and white society declares their loyalty to segregation and white supremacy. Mississippi is not alone in their loyalty to traditional white society; rather, they are among the most violent. The state is economically poor and has the least to lose in refusing to create racial harmony for the sake of business and capital growth. In the book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, by Anne Moody, she tells the audience how race and poverty interconnected throughout her childhood. Race plays a more important role in her life, being poor simply adds to her troubles. .
             Moody's family suffers from poverty almost as much as they suffer from racism. Coming of Age in Mississippi traces Moody's life from her childhood, to high school, to college, and finally into the movement. Moody looks at her life and gives the reader a sense of what it feels like to be black during this time. An example of her family's poorness is when she states "We all lived in rotten wood two-room shacks" (11). She is a young poor girl that turns into a powerful woman. Pains of everyday racist interactions take place. She fears of white violence and is outraged by the vanity, arrogance, and privilege of white society. Moody is often frustrated by blacks that do not defend the exploitation of their race. .
             The movement in Mississippi interconnects race and poverty issues. Jim Crow laws of segregation and discrimination is one of the main focuses for Moody. Many people in the movement, particularly the SNCC, initiate the Freedom Summer Project in which Moody is an organizer. SNCC aims at changing human relationships. The SNCC also concentrates on developing personal and collective empowerment. Her visions of democracy, egalitarianism, and antiauthoritarianism influence the way people work in the movement.