Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody: Process of Activism Coursework

In her narrative about coming of age in Mississippi, Anne Moody begins her process of activism exactly as Martin Luther King Jr. outlines while still following her own path. King said that “in any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: a collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification and direct action.” One point in Moody’s story that depicts a point in her life when she had to make the decision to act nonviolently occurs relatively early in her story as she is making the decision to leave Mississippi. Her thought process through this segment of her story illustrates how she followed and amended King’s process to her own needs.

Moody begins the passage by illustrating how she began thinking of activism by collecting the facts. She relates the story of poor Samuel O’Quinn who was murdered as he walked the distance from the town to his home on the outskirts. According to Moody, he was shot from behind at close range, indicating both that the murderers wanted to take no chances at missing, Samuel most likely knew he was about to be killed and that the killing was done in what would normally be considered a cowardly fashion had it involved all white men under the old codes of chivalry and fair play. This incident serves as a catalyst for Moody who then begins remembering other killings that had already taken place. “I lay in bed for two days after his death recalling the Taplin burning, Jerry’s beating, Emmett Till’s murder and working for Mrs. Burke.” All of these are evidence of the inequality and oppression of the South toward black people.

Moody’s negotiation stage is comprised more of careful consideration of the available options at her disposal. “I thought of waging a war in protest against the killings all by myself if no one else would help.” However, she had to come to grips both with her own physical and psychological limitations and escaped into her thoughts as she attempted to discover a new plan of action. This closely approximates the self-purification stage mentioned by King as she “became a real loner. I spent most of my time in school, at work or in church. Whenever I was home, I stayed in my room to avoid Raymond. I even moved the piano in there. I didn’t have any contact with my classmates or teachers outside the classroom.” Her associations with others are stopped because she is furious with other black people for not rising up in anger against the killings, beatings and oppression and she is angry with her white employer for not speaking out against it.

Although she had planned to finish high school in Mississippi and then escape to the north or somewhere the oppression might not be quite so oppressive, this purification stage makes waiting any longer nearly unbearable. Finally, Moody is driven to the direct action stage when she packs up her belongings and decides to move to New Orleans. “I would go to New Orleans to work at the restaurant, then finish high school at night.” While her action does little to stop the problems in Centerville, by removing herself and Adline from this oppressive atmosphere, Moody made a strong personal statement that these conditions were not acceptable to her and shouldn’t be acceptable for anyone.