Mary Jane

On Saturday, Mary Jane accompanies her parents to the Elkridge Country Club, of which they are members. Because of her exposure to the contrasting lifestyle at the Cone house, Mary Jane sees the country club in a different light. She realizes that most of the staff are Black people who wouldn’t be allowed to join as members. Likewise, Dr. Cone would be excluded because of his Jewish religion. She thinks, “We’d learned about the civil rights movement in school. It made me feel hopeful, like change was happening all around us. But sitting at Elkridge that day, I felt stuck in a time-warp atrium of segregated politeness” (150).

That Sunday, during her church choir performance, Mary Jane is startled to see Sheba and Jimmy disguised in the back row, cheering her on and enjoying her performance. When she returns to the Cone house on Monday, Mary Jane learns that everyone is going to a cottage on a private beach for an entire week, and she’s been invited to come along. Mary Jane calls to let her mother know, but Mrs. Dillard demands to speak to Dr. Cone that evening before she consents to her daughter’s trip.