Summary

February 12, 1963 – Jacqueline Woodson is born Tuesday, February 12, 1963, at the University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Her ancestors were slaves from South Carolina, though she herself is born in the North long after the Civil War. She is born in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, where all across the South, people are pushing for rights for black Americans.

Second Daughter’s Second Day on Earth – Jacqueline is born to Mary Ann Irby, aged 22, and Jack Austin Woodson, aged 25, both black. Martin Luther King , Jr., is preparing for a march on Washington. John F. Kennedy is president. Malcom X is advocating revolution. James Baldwin is writing novels and essays about injustice. Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges have made stands for freedom. Baby Jacqueline’s hands curl into fists, the way of every baby’s hands, according to her mother. For Jacqueline, her firsts are symbolic...