Joan

Joan is Miriam’s and Jax’s eldest daughter. She is also Mya’s older sister. When Miriam is pregnant with Mya, Joan is just three years old. She and Miriam travel to Memphis together so that Miriam can give birth to the baby in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. While they are staying at the Memphis family house, Joan’s cousin Derek, Miriam’s sister August’s son, rapes Joan. Miriam is sitting on the porch with August, meditating on the peacefulness of her second pregnancy when three-year-old Joan emerges with blood dripping down from between her legs.

Horrified, when Miriam takes Joan to the doctor, she is desperate to know how much of the experience her daughter will remember. The doctor is dismissive, making Miriam realize that he does not care about Joan’s fate because she is Black.

Joan remembers nothing of the rape for...