1. After reading Moody’s autobiography and the Senate debates on the Civil Rights Act (Going to the Source, Chapter 11), do you think that grassroots action in Mississippi affected the attitudes of Senators in Congress? Did the Senate really understand what Mississippi was like? How much of Anne’s experience can be found in the Senate debates? What did they leave out? How do you think Anne Moody would have reacted to hearing these Senate debates?
2. (Lyndon Johnson) In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson gave the commencement address at Howard University, a historically black university. What points is Johnson making in his speech? After reading Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, do you think that she would have agreed with Johnson? Why or why not? Is there anything that Johnson does not mention? What experiences growing up and participating in “The Movement” in Mississippi might have led her to agree or disagree with the President?
3. (Birmingham Jail) Ann Moody attended the March on Washington and heard Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous “I have a Dream” speech. How did Moody react to this speech and to King’s message of non-violence? After reading Moody’s autobiography and listening to and reading Dr. King’s speech, can you explain her reaction? How does her reaction reflect her experiences growing up in Mississippi?Why does the speech fail to resonate with her? Would she have reacted any better to King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail?” Why or why not?