Coming of Age in Mississippi

Coming of Age in Mississippi is a non-fiction autobiography and memoir of Anne Moody, and her life growing up as a female African-American during the mid-1900's. Anne Moody, born Essie Mae Moody, was born September 15, 1940, just outside Centreville, Mississippi. The book covers Moody's life from the childhood through her mid-twenties, including her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement beginning when she was a student at the historically black Tougaloo College.

Moody's autobiography details her struggles both against racism among white people and sexism among her fellow civil rights activists. It received many positive reviews and won awards from the National Library Association and the National Council of Christians and Jews. Moody grew up on a farm with her family, as they were poor sharecroppers, before they move into a town in order for her to begin the school.

Anne Moody understands that there is a difference between the white and black people early on as she grows up in the town. Yet, she continues living a somewhat blissful life during the years of grade school. When Moody begins high school, so does her interest and fight for rights for the colored. A black boy is tortured and killed by white people for whistling flirtatiously towards a white woman, and Moody is left shocked.