Summary

In Chapter 1, Hiram Hillburn recounts how his father hates the word "hate". As Hiram remembers these things he also remembers that it is because of hate that a young boy named Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. In the small town of Greenwood, Mississippi, Hiram lives with his grandparents, Earl and Florence Hillburn. Hiram's parents live in Oxford as Hiram's father Harlan and mother Dee study at the local university. Harlan wants to pursue an education as he has come home from World War II and has decided that he wants to become educated in hopes of finding a good job so he can take his family away from the South. This causes many arguments between Harlan and Grampa and their relationship is rocky at best.

As Hiram lives peacefully with his grandparents, he and his grandfather have a set routine. On most days...