Family is often one
of the most important factors in people’s lives. What is interesting to note is
the roles certain members play in their families. One of the recurring themes
in our readings is the role children play in their families and the expectations
set before them. In the 21st century, most children are given the opportunity
to have fun and enjoy their childhood and not expected (or allowed, by child
labor laws) to financially assist their families. This convenience was not
given to African American children, especially in the early 20th century. Of
the texts we have read for class, Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne
Moody showcases this concept the most frequently. Moody details her work
experiences during her childhood, from having her first job at nine years old,
to working for Linda Jean Jenkins by doing “all the housework and [taking] care
of [her daughter] Donna,” to cleaning Mrs. Burke’s home and tutoring her son,
Wayne (43; 93; 116; 149).
Moody would
frequently contribute the money she earned to her family’s finances. Because
she had such a large family and many siblings, she understood that her family
needed whatever additional income she could provide for them. This way of
thinking is depicted when Moody thought to herself, “we needed even that six
dollars so badly” when Linda Jean cut her pay in half (94). Rather than think
about herself, she automatically thought about her family’s needs as a whole
unit, rather than her own individual needs. Even when she became more mature
and began to keep her earnings to herself, she lessened the monetary burden she
placed on her parents and used her income to buy her own clothes. By being more
independent, her parents could focus their income on Moody’s younger siblings.
In modern American
culture, a majority of families are not dependent on their children’s income.
Granted, I am sure many families still struggle financially and depend on any
extra income their older children can contribute. However, a difference in this
situation is the age at which these children become key contributors to their
family’s finances. This is in part due to better services and protections for
children. Child labor laws have become more strict in recent years, in addition
to better, non-segregated schools. For instance, if a child would decide to
help contribute to the family’s income in today’s culture, they would only be
able to do so as a teenager. While these services have protected the naïveté of
many children, it may have shifted the idea of the idea of a family from a unit
that works together for a single collective goal to being a group of people
with multiple noncontributing dependents.
Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi. New York: Dell Publishing. 1968.
Moody, Anne. Coming of Age in Mississippi. New York: Dell Publishing. 1968.
Becky, I think that your insight about finances during this time of the early to mid 20th century is a great example of the ways in which African Americans experienced inequality during the era of segregation. I think a very clear example in the book of inequality between blacks and whites is the differences between Wayne Burke and Anne. While Anne worked at the Burke house everyday after school, Wayne was free to do whatever he pleased because his family was not dependent upon him earning money. One of the incidents that stands out to me the most is when Anne is cleaning the department store windows. Standing on the street, she is cleaning the windows at the front of the store when she sees Wayne walking with his friends. Not only is there this distinction between the fact that she is working and that he is free to simply hand out with his friends, but also Anne feels embarrassed to be seen working. This is important because it gets at the feeling of African Americans's have about the oppression they experience on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I will say that I think you brought up a very important issue when you talked about the fact that Anne has a very large family. Not uncommon for African American families, Anne's large family is a direct effect of segregation and oppression. A lack of education about sexual activity and family planning in African American females, and males for that matter, contributed to the large family size. This large family size then in turn contributed to the financial problems in black families. In a never ending cycle of oppression then, the children of parents who are financially unstable because of their large family are then fated to receive the same lack of education when it comes to family planning and birth control methods.