Chapter 9, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 Summary

On Sunday, Kenny gets up early and sees Dad listening to music in the Brown Bomber. Kenny goes out to sit with him and asks if Byron really has to go to Alabama. Dad says Byron is learning the wrong things in Flint. He asks if Kenny's heard about what's happening in the South. Kenny has seen pictures of angry white people yelling at little black kids trying to go to school. Dad says that Byron needs to be ready for the world and that spending time in the South will show Byron what the world can be like.

Kenny tells his father that making adult decisions seems scary, and he's not sure he'll be a good parent. His father compares growing up to Kenny sitting on Dad's lap to steer...