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I feel like the water background relates to my own coming of age because before I found my place playing softball and was a part of my team, I felt like a drop of water in an ocean. I felt like I wasn't significant or that I stood out from other people. When I started to play softball, I realized what it felt like to be valued and needed by so many different people, and it helped me realize how I felt before.

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America had to accept the African Americans for who they were and had to accept them as equals. Lily had to accept the fact that her mother left her, but only because she wanted to start a better life for her. Both Lily and America had to accept something they did not want to, but realized they had to.

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“(1963) Martin Luther King Jr., ‘I Have a Dream’ | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed.” St. Clair, Stephanie (1886–1969) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, www.blackpast.org/1963-martin-luther-king-jr-i-have-dream.

Carson, Clayborne. “American Civil Rights Movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 May 2018, www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement.

History.com Staff. “Civil Rights Act of 1964.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act.

“The Long History of Black Women's Exclusion in Historic Marches in Washington.” Bunk, www.bunkhistory.org/resources/1275?related=1131&relationship_name=RELATED.

“Newsela | Primary Sources: Brown v. Board of Education.” Newsela | Primary Sources: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, newsela.com/read/primary-source-brown-vs-board/id/18484

Watson, Pat, and Sue Monk. Kidd. Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd: Teacher Guide. Novel Units, Inc., 2007.

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How The Secret Life of Bees connects to the Civil Rights Movement

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How The Secret Life of Bees connects to the Civil Rights Movement

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This book connects to the Civil Rights Movement because Lily has to accept the fact of her mother leaving her by slowly learning to deal with it like America as a country had to learn to accept the African Americans as equals through gradual integration. Both Lily and America had to learn to accept, Lily had to accept the truth of her mother’s past and America had to accept the African Americans. They both did this through gradual changes or over time, but they both eventually learned to accept. For example, Lily first has to accept the fact that her mother left her when August Boatwright, one of the sisters she is staying with, tells her that her mother left her with her father and went to stay with her. Lily is furious with her mother and can not believe her mother would do that to her, but she starts to come around when she realizes how much her mother cared for her and that she planned to go back to get her. In the civil rights movement, America was very resistant to accepting the African American people as equal, and many people fought hard against it. But, as time passed on, many people realized that the African Americans deserved to be viewed as equal and that they never had any reason to be against them. Just like Lily, America realized over time that they needed to accept, and that helped both Lily and America come of age.

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“One hundred years later the Negro is still languishing in the comers of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

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Martin Luther King Jr. gave this motivational speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This speech is about how the African American people are still not entirely free and how they are “exiled” in their homeland. It talks about how America still hasn’t accepted the African American people but that they should not give up until everyone does.

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(1963) Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream" | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed

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But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from bitterness and hatred.

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America came of age by learning to accept people like the African Americans. This was a long, slow process, but through gradual integration, they learned to accept them as the equals they are. They learned that the way they treated people like the African Americans was wrong, and that treating people unfairly based on their race was unacceptable.

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When I left dance after 10 years, and started to dedicate my life to softball, it changed the way that I thought of myself. Softball gave me confidence and made me realize that I was on a team, and that I was a valued member. Before when I danced, it was like I was invisible, and it felt like I was never good enough, but when I started to play competitive softball, I finally realized how it felt to be valued by other people, and how there is so much more out there. It also made me realize how much more I enjoyed a sport that was more physically active and where you are invested in a team. This made me fall in love with the sport, and it changed my view on things like how other people view you. Joining a tournament softball team and leaving dance made me realize that I was so much happier when I was noticed for all of my hard work and effort I put into something I loved.

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The civil rights act was a movement of people determined to defy racial oppression and gain the rights that they deserve. They fought for desegregation of public facilities and integrate places like schools. They confronted the injustice they were facing because equal rights for all were given in the constitution, yet African Americans were treated unfairly and lesser than other people. They were segregated by having colored only bathrooms, white only buses, and many other public places like schools, were divided based on race. They fought for fairness and acceptance throughout our country by peacefully protesting, and eventually their perseverance brought them justice and they were accepted as equals. They needed public attention to help their cause. By protesting and showing their support and caringness for the cause, it helped people realize how important this was to them and how they deserved nothing less than what they were asking for. To reach acceptance, they had to gradually integrate public places so it slowly became acceptable. The civil rights act also helped stop employment discrimination based on sex, race, origin, color, religion, and other factors that should not matter when interviewing for a job. Even when the government passed laws or bills that allowed Africans Americans the basic rights they deserve, there was still backlash from many American citizens, and it was a long, slow process to get all of them to accept the African Americans.

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Shows a group of mostly white men protesting that “mixing races is communism” and protesting against integration

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This picture shows a group of primarily African American women protesting for equal rights, integration, and against other biased ways.

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Lily wants to know about her late mother’s past, who died suddenly when she was young, but her father T-Ray hates the idea of bringing up Lily’s mother and punishes her for it. So, Lily and her stand in mother, Rosaleen, run away and end up at a house that Lily thinks her mother has a connection to. When they arrive, they are warmly welcomed by 3 sister beekeepers, and are invited to stay. Many people in the town think it is strange that a young white girl is living with four African American women because of the time period. Lily soon starts to uncover secrets from her mother past, and has to accept the reality of what she cannot remember. She finds out her mother left her with her father and went to live with the Boatwright sisters. Lily is furious with her mother for abandoning her and cannot accept the fact that her mother would do that to her. She then finds out that her mother died while coming back to get Lily, which comforts her and makes her feel better about her mom. Then, Lily’s father finds where she is and tries to pry her away, but her new family will not let her leave, and she stays with the people who cared for her mother and care about her.