Because the novel situates Addie Ann’s fictitious life within historical events of the 1960s, it is important to have a strong understanding of these events and the world in which Addie Ann lives throughout the novel.

Despite the fact that Black Americans were freed from slavery nearly a century before, the South in 1963 was still rampant with racism and injustice. In particular, white members who held positions of power utilized every tool available at their disposal to continue to oppress Black people and ensure that equality was never achieved. One such example, the Jim Crow laws, remained in effect in America until 1965. They were a set of laws that allowed racial segregation of schools and public facilities, as seen in the novel when Addie Ann is forced to walk three miles to attend the only Black school in the area. As the novel opens, the broader civil rights movement throughout the South is fighting for desegregation, and Addie Ann experiences the impact of segregation on her own life. In addition to Jim Crow laws, Addie Ann also witnesses firsthand a literacy test that is given to a Black member of the community to see if they are eligible to vote.