How we cite our quotes: The main text of the story is cited (Chapter.Paragraph). The date headers are not counted as paragraphs. The verses in the chapters with a single passage from the narrator's religious texts are cited (Chapter.Verse.Line#). In chapters with multiple passages, the verses are cited (Chapter.Verse#.Line#). The four section pages with the years and passages are cited (Year.Verse).
Quote #1
Our other adult Guardian was Joanne's father Jay. He's a good guy and a good shot. Dad likes to work with him, although sometimes there are problems. The Garfields and the Balters are white, and the rest of us are black. That can be a dangerous thing these days. On the street, people are expected to fear and hate everyone but their own kind, but with all of us armed and watchful, people stared, but they let us alone. Our neighborhood is too small for us to play those kinds of games. (4.28)
Here Lauren gives the racial demographics of Robledo. Basically, everyone is Black, except for the Garfields and the Balters. On the streets in her area, people usually ally up based on skin color, but the two Guardians or leaders are one Black guy (Reverend Olamina) and one white guy (Jay Garfield), so Robledo has some strength in diversity going. Basically, they have to be strong to survive, and that pressure has forced them to work with others who have a different skin color.
Quote #2
Bianca Montoya is pregnant.
[...]
Jorge admits to being the father. [...] At least they're both Latino. No interracial feud this time. Last year when Craig Dunn who's white and one of the saner members of the Dunn family was caught making love to Siti Moss who's black and Richard Moss's oldest daughter to boot, I thought someone was going to get killed. Crazy. (8.2-3)
So even in 2025, people are still fighting over interracial relationships. That's pretty sad. With recent changes in tolerance such as the federal legalization of gay marriage, do you think ethnic divides will still be a thing in the near future, or not?
Quote #3
The two movers were a black and a white, and I could see that Cory considered that hopeful. Maybe Olivar wouldn't be the white enclave that Dad had expected. (13.12)
One of the reasons Reverend Olamina was opposed to moving to Olivar was that he thought the company town might be full of white people. But Cory was more into the idea of moving there, so she's glad to see that the movers who come for the Garfields consist of both a Black person and a white person. When you're in a new area, is the skin color of people around you one of the first things you notice? Why or why not?