'We were so separate, and the black people that I knew were mostly people who either worked for my family or, you know, we still saw them working in the cotton fields. On the author's personal experience with segregation I think that's why she turned out to be a whole lot braver than I or any of my friends ever were.' I wanted her to do something that not many kids would do, and I think between her father and the librarian, Miss Bloom, encouraging her, Glory really sort of learned a lot and began to stand up. So I wanted her to be the exceptional child in that time period. 'I think I made Glory very brave because so many of the kids that I knew when I was in sixth grade really would not have been like Glory. for someone to come all the way from Ohio like Laura and her mother did, that was really an event in this little town.' 'Laura is a Yankee,' author Augusta Scattergood tells NPR's Michele Norris. Laura is different from the other white girls Glory knows in Mississippi. In this town, black and white populations are separated in almost all aspects of life.Īnother big change for Glory is a new friend she makes at the local library. The family's maid, Emma, is Glory's caretaker and confidante - and the only black person Glory knows well.

Glory's dad is a preacher, her mom has died, and her big sister is about to enter high school. But this is no ordinary summer - it's 1964 and the town has shut down the so-called 'community' swimming pool to avoid integration. We hope you'll join Glory and her friends in Hanging Moss in July.In July, NPR's Backseat Book Club traveled to Hanging Moss, Miss., where Gloriana June Hemphill, better known as Glory, is just an ordinary little girl. It's a year that will teach her a lot about bigotry, loyalty and bravery. She's white, and growing up in the South, her life has been one of privilege - spending hours at the local library, and eating pie with her best friend, Frankie.īut the summer of 1964 brings seismic change to Hanging Moss - and not just because Glory's older sister is suddenly interested in boys. She loves to read Nancy Drew, and has never met a Yankee. Gloriana June Hemphill is an 11-year-old who can't wait to celebrate her July 4 birthday at the community pool. The time is 1964, and this coming-of-age story intersects with the country's own coming of age during the civil rights era.

Hanging Moss is the setting for Glory Be, by Augusta Scattergood. In July, NPR's Backseat Book Club is heading to Hanging Moss, Miss., and boy, is it hot.

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood