Summary

In Chapter 21, Sandra struggled with the racial divisions and attitudes. One day, she and her white friend Leah were in Banana Republic, planning to spend some money Leah's dad gave them. A clerk followed them around for awhile, then told them to leave Sandra did not realize what happened until Leah said, “She thinks you're going to shoplift because you're black” (170). That was a wake-call for Sandra, who realized that other people saw the color of her skin first. She found that was a stark contrast to how she saw herself in Africa, where she never “defined” herself as black.

Sandra's father was still recovering and her mother took a second job, cleaning a theater. Sandra helped on the weekends. The job often took them all night and Rachel worked both jobs without complaint. Sandra took on the task of talking to people...