White Lilacs

Rose Lee’s father, Poppa, is a barber; her mother, Momma, does laundry for people throughout Dillon; and her grandmother, Lila, is a midwife. Many of the white families in Dillon “could be counted on to give work to most anybody” (20), but her brother, Henry, refuses to work for them, instead choosing to work in the brickyard despite his parents’ protests. He fought in World War I in France and insists that Black people deserve to be treated better like they are in Europe, and that he fought for his country and got nothing in return.

When Rose Lee gets back to her home, her father is in the room off the front of the house that he uses as a barbershop. Several men are there waiting to get their haircut, including the town’s undertaker, Mr. Morgan, and Pastor Mobley. Grandpa Jim instructs Rose Lee to tell the men what she heard, and she repeats the news about the white women planning to turn Freedom into a “park.” The men react with a mix of anger and fear, with some determined to fight and others convinced that there is nothing they can do. They stay and discuss it long past when Poppa usually closes the shop.

Rose Lee is working in Mrs. Bell’s garden when she is approached by Miss Emily Firth, a white woman that Rose Lee recognizes from Mrs. Bell’s Garden Club. Miss Firth is from Philadelphia, and Rose Lee remembers how she was the only woman who suggested that the Black people of Freedom might not be happy to move. After introducing herself, Miss Firth tells Rose Lee she wants to draw her and Grandpa Jim working in the garden.

Over the next few days, Miss Firth comes back, and Rose Lee watches her as she draws. When she is finished, she invites Rose Lee over to see the drawings. Rose Lee notices how “simple” yet beautiful they are. She informs Miss Firth that she also likes to draw—something that she tells very few people, as she hides a tablet of paper and pencils in Mrs. Bell’s shed. Miss Firth asks to see Rose Lee’s drawing, and Rose Lee surprises herself by agreeing.

After looking at Rose Lee’s sketches, Miss Firth tells her that she is very talented. She informs Rose Lee that she is going to be teaching a drawing class and wants Rose Lee to attend free of charge.

That evening, Poppa tells his family that the white people in Dillon are circulating a petition to raise money to buy land for a city park. They explain to Rose Lee that, if approved, it would give them the authority to raze Freedom without the Black citizens’ permission. Henry grows angry, insisting that they need to stand up for themselves and fight back. He and Poppa have an argument, with Henry arguing that his time with the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Dallas taught him that Black people will need to fight if they ever want their own land. He supports Marcus Garvey, while Poppa insists that there is a more civil way to handle things, following Booker T. Washington. Henry storms out, leaving Rose Lee confused about everything.

Poppa then tells Rose Lee that he wants her to take Cora’s place as a maid in the Bell home. To Momma’s frustration, he also tells Rose Lee to listen to the women as she serves them to try to get more information. Rose Lee agrees, angry that she will no longer be in the garden but determined to help Freedom by learning everything she can about the Garden Club’s plan.

Rose Lee spends the next several days getting lessons from Aunt Tillie. She learns how to set the table, how to serve the different foods, and how to stay out of the way while also discreetly listening in on their meals.

When Rose Lee was five, Catherine Jane Bell—seven at the time—came out and spoke with her in the garden. She invited Rose Lee into her house, and the two spent the afternoon playing with Catherine Jane’s dolls and exploring the house. Rose Lee is amazed by the toilet and bath, as well as the chandelier and the cleanliness of everything. When Catherine Jane’s mother comes home, Catherine Jane rushes Rose Lee back outside. After that, the two would play together whenever Mrs. Bell was out, sometimes in the house and sometimes in the shed, which Rose Lee thinks is “as close as [she] ever got to having Catherine Jane come to play at [her] house” (55). However, over the last couple years, the two have stopped playing together and grown apart—which Rose Lee knows is because of the color of their skin.

One morning, Catherine Jane comes and sits while Rose Lee works. Catherine Jane tells her that she is going to start a drawing class once school gets out, which makes Rose Lee feel annoyed and “jealous” because Catherine Jane never even liked drawing. When Catherine Jane explains that it is Miss Firth’s class, Rose Lee realizes that she will never be allowed into the class. She assumes that Miss Firth doesn’t yet know about Jim Crow, but Miss Firth’s opinion will be irrelevant anyway, as the people of Freedom are “never allowed to mingle with white folks” (58).