For example, Hazels tells us,.
"Them teachers that don't like me cause I won't sing them Southern songs or back off when they tell me my questions are out of order." Here, Hazel is being treated unjustly. She has a right not to sing the songs because it is against her race as it was un-respectful as a black American to sing these songs because they are discriminating against her own race. She should have the freedom to make this decision without the teachers interfering with her.
Both of the girls are comparable to Malcolm X, who was against racism and black discrimination along with demanding equal rights, "By any means necessary," rather then Martin Luther King, who adopted passive resistance to racism. The girls are equivalent to Malcolm X, mainly because their violence. They fight to achieve respect, which is particulary vital to Squeaky, for she lives in quite a brutal area. In the time that the stories were set, which was around the 1960's, it was the era of campaigning for civil rights for black people, and equal rights for women. For this reason, children were brought up to be tough, and taught to be proud of being black, not ashamed of it. Furthermore, they learned to demand respect from other people, and for that reason, they needed an attitude to get through life. This I believe is why both of the girls come across as rude, but bold. Nonetheless, if you take a closer look, and take a step towards to them, you will notice that they crucially need this attitude to get through life. .
Both of the girls look after, protect and defend their brothers. This especially applies to Squeaky, who has to look after her older brother Raymond because of a medical problem he has. She protects him from other people picking on him, and tries to shield him form the real, harsh world in which they live. Here, Squeaky talks about when her other brother, George used to look after Raymond,.
"And a lot of smart mouths got lots to say about that too, especially when George was minding him.
