USA –a country caught between Black and White.
-- Jacqueline Woodson (Part I, February 12, 1963 paragraph 1)

Importance: The racism and Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s is the backdrop for the world into which Jackie is born. This backdrop will serve to be important to Jackie’s childhood as she moves between Ohio, South Carolina, New York, and then returns to South Carolina to spend summers with her grandparents.

You’ll face this in your lives someday... A moment when you walk into a room and no one there is like you.
-- Mary Ann Woodson (Part I, It’ll Be Scary Sometimes paragraph 7)

Importance: Mary Ann reminds Jackie that her ancestor, William Woodson, was the only black child in an all-white class, and that Jackie will one day face a similar situation. Here, Mary Ann speaks not only of race, but of anything that may make Jackie different from everyone else. In a family full of doctors, lawyers, and professionals, Jackie will want to become a writer –something different from everyone...