Stamps, Arkansas

At a very early age, Maya and her brother are shipped to a small Southern town in Arkansas, named Stamps. Stamps is a split community, with a number of both blacks and whites, and like most cities in the south, it is highly segregated. Maya's grandmother, Annie, is the only black store owner in Stamps, and as such, gains at least marginal respect from the whites, and tremendous respect from the blacks. The whites in Stamps, however, are highly racist, and the blacks rarely ever even see the whites. Stamps, Arkansas is the place where Maya learns much about discrimination and racial hatred.

St. Louis, Missouri

When Maya is still young, she is moved with her brother to St. Louis, Missouri, to live with her mother. St. Louis is much different than Stamps, Arkansas, in that while it is still a racist town, it is not nearly...