Upon seeing her White friends, she followed them into the lower lobby where Whites were allowed to sit. She was unaware that there was a segregated sitting area for Blacks in the balcony. This then opened Anne's eyes to realize that, "not only were they better than me because they were white, but everything they owned and everything connected with them was better than what available to me." (p. 38) From her White friends" toys to their large spacious homes, Anne saw two unequal lifestyles. As she entered her teenage years, Anne found domestic work cleaning homes. Although the majority of her superiors were kind to her, there was one woman who exposed more discrimination to Anne than anyone else of that time. When Emmett Till, a Black teenager, was murdered for whistling at a White woman, Anne's boss Mrs. Burke, a racist, noted that, "he was killed because he got out of place with a white women" (p.125) Anne soon realized that racial hostility created more discrimination between Blacks and Whites. Blacks lost their rights to social equality as well as their freedom of expression. Anne's hatred was not only geared towards Whites but also towards Blacks for not standing up for themselves and,"began to look upon Negro men as cowards." (p. 129) This frustration grew larger as she matured into adulthood. .
Aggravated by the hostility in her hometown of Centerville, Anne sought after a new life. At the end of tenth grade, Anne moved to New Orleans for the summer to live with an aunt, and was in hope of finding a prosperous job. She had high hopes that employment in a big city such as New Orleans would promise something. Unfortunately, she would find out that such jobs were extremely hard to find. Anne's first job was working in a chicken factory as a strikebreaker. She later on found a job working from a dish washer, to bussing tables, and eventually as a waitress at the Maple Hill restaurant.