Random Stuff from "The Fourth of July"

when does the story take place

the summer vacation after the speaker has graduated from eighth grade

why did the parents take the kids to Washington DC for Fourth of July

as graduation presents for both of them

why couldn’t the author go in the railroad dining car

at the time, her mother told her it was too expensive and unhygienic, but the author learned later on that Black people weren’t allowed into railroad dining cars in 1947

what was the origin of the trip

the author’s sister’s high school class went to Washington, but she wasn’t allowed because she was Black, so her father vowed to take her there themselves

why did the author’s parents handle racism as a “private woe”

they believed they could best protect their children from racism by never discussing it with them

the author’s family are only able to stay in a…

back street hotel

did the speaker like the summer or the Fourth of July as a child?

no, she hated the summer brightness and the Fourth of July

what color was the pavement in Washington

“a shade lighter in color than back home”

why does the author’s family get kicked out of the ice cream parlor

because they’re Black

why is the author so outraged about getting kicked out of the ice cream parlor

no one would answer her questions about why they were kicked out, they didn’t do anything to deserve it, and she had written poems about freedom and democracy for all in school

who does the author decide to write a letter to

the president

how does the author describe everything she encountered on the trip

the waitress, the counter, the ice cream, the heat, the pavement, and the stone were all white