Big Ma, Cassie Logan's live-in grandmother, to her
astonishment permits her to ride in the wagon to the nearby Mississippi town of
Strawberry on market day. Later that day, preoccupied with the shame of a racist
encounter with the manager of the town's general store, Cassie accidentally bumps into
Lillian Jean Simms, a white girl her own age. Not content with a simple apology, the
Simms girl demands Cassie get down from the sidewalk into the road. As Cassie refuses
this further humiliation, Mr. Simms intervenes and forces her into the road. Into this
ugly confrontation steps Big Ma who insists that Cassie apologize. She does so,
reluctantly, but is infuriated with her grandmother. Later, as Cassie prepares to go to
bed, Mama explains Big Ma's actions:
"Big Ma didn't want you to be hurt...That was the
only thing on her mind...making sure Mr. Simms didn't hurt
you."
Not satisfied with that
answer, Cassie questions the endemic racism of her
environment:
"How come I gotta go 'round calling her 'Miz'
like she grown or
something?"
Mama, troubled
because her only daughter has had her first encounter with brutal inhumanity, explains
that Mr. Simms pushed her into the street "because he's one of those people who has to
believe that white people are better than black people to make himself feel
big."
As Cassie stares at her uncomprehendingly, Mama
retells the story of slavery and Christianity corrupted and
emancipation:
"Even though seventy years have passed since
slavery, most white people still think of us as they did then - that we're not as good
as they are - and people like Mr. Simms hold on to that belief harder than some other
folks because they have little else to hold on
to."
Still not placated by
this unjust state of affairs, Mama reminds Cassie that however unchosen the colour of
one's skin is, she has infinite "choice over what we make of our lives once we're
here...And I pray God you'll make the best of yours."
No comments:
Post a Comment