Ricksville, Mississippi

Ricksville, Mississippi is the small Mississippi town where Katherine decides to do the majority of her research on her thesis. This is the town where Ella lives. The majority of the action of the novel is set in Ricksville.

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey is the city in which Katherine attends college. It is while Katherine is in Princeton that she has a discussion with her Black professor, Dr. Livenworth, in which he infers to her that he suspects she is racist. He advises that she go back to where she came from and try to unlearn what she learned. Katherine credits this statement as being the motive for her decision to return to Mississippi to conduct her research.

Philadelphia, Mississippi

Philadelphia, Mississippi is the town near Ricksville where Kate was raised. Her father was a farmer in Philadelphia who struggled after the civil rights movement...