"Statler Aames and his brothers got a big kick out of teasing colored folks, and for the most part all colored folks could do was stand and take it, for white folks ruled things, and talking back to them with a smart mouth could get you into big trouble. Hitting one of them could get you killed. That was the way of things." Chapter 1, p. 11

"There weren't all those many jobs open to educated colored folks except to teach, and none of the boys had an inclination for teaching. Besides, there were some other jobs around that paid a whole lot better than teaching." Chapter 2, p. 32

"In fact, he [Jeremy Simms] was the only white person of manhood whom we addressed face-to-face directly with his first name without setting a Mr. in front of it, but we only addressed him at those times when there were no other...