Together We Read

Hattie wants to be a role model for Black Americans, but finds herself at odds with many over the course of the book. What did you make of this?

Many characters in the book were inspired by her, even the author herself. Learning all that she went through, I think her dedication was inspiring. She did fight all the way until the end, exactly as she wanted to, no one stopped her throughout the book except herself when she was too low.

This frustrated me so much. The fact that she had to fight to be recognized by whites and then have to feel hate from blacks? I was so mad for her. No matter what she did she was disrespected in all directions.

I felt like everyone had the same end goal, but different methods. Things Hattie saw as great first steps were deemed setbacks by others. Things other people were demanding seemed like too much, too soon for Hattie. Lighter skinned people also had an easier time with the white Hollywood than someone like Hattie. I think the butting heads stemmed from The desire of change, but not really looking at the abilities of individuals.