How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Li'l Sis, are you a white girl or a black girl?"
Fern said, "I'm a colored girl." (10.16-17)
Delphine explains to us that there's a big difference between saying black and colored. The girls don't care very much which word is used, but everyone at the Center gasps when they hear the word colored. Even though Fern is black, there are still rules and expectations about how she should self-identify.
Quote #5
Vonetta had gone over Miss Patty Cake with the black Magic Marker, leaving pink lips and pink rouge circles peeking out on a once-white face. (14.59)
Fern is ticked when she sees her beloved doll covered in marker from head to toe. It's not just because Vonetta destroyed her stuff, though, it's because Fern didn't have a problem with the doll being white. Even though Crazy Kelvin thought it was a huge problem, Fern just didn't see what the big deal was. To her, a doll isn't about race.
Quote #6
I wanted to ask him how it felt to have slanted eyes, hair like pine needles, and coppery-colored skin. Which one was he more: Chinese or colored? (17.7)
We're pretty sure this isn't the best question to ask Hirohito. After all, why does it matter? Just because he's mixed race doesn't mean anything. Besides, it goes against everything Delphine has told us about how she feels about race. She's treated differently because she's black, but then judges Hirohito because he's not black enough.