Anne Moody grew up in an environment heavily plagued with segregation. When she was young, this segregation was not entirely evident. Anne was the first born to her mother and father. When her parents separated, her mother soon met a man who would eventually take her father's place in the household. His name was Raymond and he opened Anne's eyes to the differences existing between his white preferred community, and her own poor, black community. Raymond's mother was a cold woman who did not approve of the relationship between Anne's mother and her son. Quite often, she took cruel measures to show her disapproval. She constantly rejected Anne's mother along with Anne and her younger brother and sister. Anne soon learned that she would not have the same opportunities in the so-called "free" nation in which she lived simply because of the color of her skin.
In the areas of her life that allowed it, Anne learned to be successful. She was an excellent student and though she far surpassed the performance of her white cousin, she was not considered to be equal, let alone superior. She worked as domestic servant for much of her childhood to help her mother and new stepfather make ends meet and provide for their growing family. Although her work was often degrading, she never allowed her own morals and beliefs to be jaded. She stood strong against the mistreatment often inflicted upon her and her family.
When Anne was nearly finished with high school, she began to hear of strange killing within black communities in the South. She knew that it was a part of the segregation and prejudice with which she had become so familiar. She realized that the black people were finally trying to find a way to defend themselves against the robbery by white people of their civil rights. One of these killing seemed to influence Anne to analyze what she believed. A man named Samuel O"Quinn was murdered in a small town in the South.