Betty Before X

Mr. Malloy brings Betty’s possessions to their home and gets her a record player. Betty lists the things she is grateful for, and it makes her feel better. She thanks God for the Malloys.

Betty goes to Suesetta’s house after church. Suesetta is thrilled that they are neighbors now. Kay cuts Betty’s hair now that Ollie Mae can’t disapprove. Betty decides to join the Housewives’ League that day.

Betty and Suesetta have been in the Housewives’ League for a month. They help stuff packets and pass out coupons and flyers to sign up new members. Mrs. Peck and Mrs. Malloy are mentors to the girls in their junior chapter. Mrs. Malloy tells the group that today they will learn how to do something good when they see something bad. Betty keenly watches how Mrs. Malloy speaks to everyone and how the League approaches recruitment. Seven women sign up that day.

As they are out canvassing, they see a nightclub advertising a Billy Eckstine performance that Saturday. In the Black Bottom neighborhood, Mrs. Malloy says it’s unfortunate that so many people live in such a small space. Public Works doesn’t shovel here when it snows, unlike in the white neighborhoods.

When they knock on a door, Suesetta introduces them. A woman named Ruth invites them in. Her mother-in-law is Marietta Haines, and she had just been telling Marietta she wanted to join before they visited. She tells them that her husband is one of the men who got a job due to their efforts. She tells the girls that in 1935 Black housewives boycotted the meatpacking industry. This forced the companies to hire Black men. Everywhere they go, Betty hears stories from appreciative people.

Now it’s Betty’s turn to knock on Phyllis’s door and make the introduction. Mrs. Boyd, Phyllis’s mother, tells them she’s not interested. She says she has to shop where she can afford to shop, regardless of who owns the store. Outside, Betty sees Phyllis looking out through the window. Betty doesn’t think they’ll be able to listen to records together on Sunday.

Betty lists her brown skin as one of her blessings, along with her voice, her hands, and her purpose.

Betty invites Phyllis and Suesetta to a sleepover for her birthday, which is next month. Suesetta agrees, but Phyllis doesn’t commit to attending. Phyllis doesn’t hug Betty tightly when they say good-bye. Betty then goes to work for Mr. Malloy. Phyllis’s father comes in with a pair of shoes. He says Thurgood Marshall is attending the prayer meeting at Bethel that night. They banter about the logic and efficacy of desegregation while Betty overhears.

Mr. Malloy says he’s not sure desegregation is going to help. He wonders why no one discusses white students moving into Black schools. He wants advancement, not mere integration that might not change racist behavior. They discuss Mrs. Malloy and her work. Mrs. Malloy believes that the power of the dollar will have the greatest influence, which is why she focuses on boycotts. Mr. Malloy refers to Betty as his daughter, which pleases her. She thinks he enjoys the debates, and he and Deacon Boyd are both laughing when they finish the verbal jousting. Mrs. Malloy enters with a box of flyers. Each flyer has two lists. One gives a list of approved stores, and the other is a list of stores to boycott. As they drive home, they see a huge line waiting at Bethel for the prayer group. Betty wants to see Thurgood Marshall, but Mr. Malloy keeps driving. Mrs. Malloy says the group will pray, but that’s not all: They will also act, because faith without works is dead.

On Monday, Betty’s siblings call to tell her they miss her. Shirley asks when she’s coming home. Rather than telling her the truth, Betty says she isn’t sure. Ollie Mae gets on the phone and asks if she’s sick when she hears a slight hoarseness in her voice. Ollie suggests tea with honey for her throat and tells her a recipe to pass on to Mrs. Malloy. Betty misses her sisters when the call ends.

Kay arrives to borrow some butter and they talk about Easter plans. Kay asks how it feels to have two mothers. Betty says Ollie Mae was never a real mother, but Kay says she should be grateful that she knows her mother. Kay is adopted, but she considers her adoptive parents her true parents. She tells Betty: “Love is always a big deal” (129).

Betty counts her blessings, thinks about the tea and honey, and how love is always a big deal. She also thinks about how many types of love exist.

The phone rings on the afternoon of Betty’s birthday sleepover. Betty’s sisters, Ollie Mae, and Arthur sing happy birthday to her. They’re quiet when she says Suesetta’s spending the night with her at Mrs. Malloy’s home. Ollie Mae says good-bye and tells Betty haltingly that the girls really wanted to call. She wishes Betty a sincere happy birthday and disconnects.

Mrs. Malloy has baked cookies, scones, and cake. When Suesetta arrives, Mrs. Malloy teaches them how to make lavender tea. They have set up a formal tea to host a meeting of the Junior League. Mrs. Peck isn’t there because they’re using the meeting to plan her appreciation service the next month. Many nationwide chapters will join them.

The date of the ceremony aligns with a campaign visit from Paul Robeson, who will sing at Bethel. Betty doesn’t know who Robeson is, but the women are all swooning and giggling at the mention of him. Mrs. Malloy thinks they can use his platform for good if he’ll align with them. He has been working with President Truman to make lynching illegal. They talk about the obscene injustice of Black men returning from the war to a country that hates them. Mrs. Malloy says that, no matter what claims Truman makes about upholding the Constitution, his actions support the consequence-free murder of Black people.

Mrs. Malloy wants Betty and Suesetta to introduce Mrs. Peck at the event. Upstairs, while the grownups talk, Betty and Suesetta paint their nails and decide to call Phyllis. Mrs. Boyd answers and then hangs up instantly after saying that Phyllis is busy. Suesetta decides to call back and pretend she is a girl named Loretta. When Phyllis gets on the phone and discovers the ruse, she says she can’t be Betty’s friend anymore. Phyllis says she disagrees with the Housewives’ League, not just because of her mother’s influence. Phyllis says that no amount of boycotts can bring lynched people back to life. She says Betty and Suesetta have grown boring and hangs up.

They play truth or dare and wind up making a prank call to an old man who tells them to stop playing games. They make one more call before Mrs. Malloy, aware of their game, tells them she needs help downstairs. That night, as they play another round of the game, Betty asks Suesetta to promise that they’ll always be friends.

Betty counts her blessings: family, friends, laughter, birthday wishes, and Suesetta saying “forever” when Betty asked her to promise that they will always be friends (144).

They plan Mrs. Peck’s ceremony for the next few weeks. The day before her service, Betty and Suesetta practice their speech and choose clothes. Betty is nervous but excited.

Paul Robeson is a famous actor and singer. When he speaks at the ceremony, it reminds Betty of thunder. He sings Amazing Grace and then it’s time for Betty and Suesetta to present. Betty does well but is nervous about her final part when she must speak alone. She says she admires Mrs. Peck because she doesn’t let her loss—the death of her husband—take her joy. Betty says she also knows what it’s like to have the person you love the most die. She thanks Mrs. Peck for her example and leadership, and Mrs. Peck cries.

Mrs. Peck stands and speaks. After thanking them, she encourages them to boycott the places that won’t hire them. Everyone stands and claps, other than Ollie Mae and Mrs. Boyd, Phyllis’s mother.

Afterwards, an usher named Mrs. White shows Betty a black leather purse. She’s trying to find its owner. Mrs. White calls out for Mrs. Malloy, asking if it’s her purse. When she can’t get Mrs. Malloy’s attention, Betty yells, “Mother! Is this your purse!” (156). Then she is self-conscious. She can’t imagine how she made Ollie Mae feel by calling Mrs. Malloy mother in front of her. However, that night in bed, she thinks happily, “I have a mother now” (158).