This Promise of Change: Parts 3–4

by Jo Ann Allen Boyce, Debbie Levy
In this autobiographical work, Jo Ann Allen Boyce recounts her experience of being one of the first Black children to integrate a public high school in Clinton, Tennessee, following desegregation in the late 1950s.


Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Part 2, Parts 3–4, Parts 5–6, Part 7–Epilogue
35 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. optimist
    a person disposed to take a favorable view of things
    I think this is going to work out.
    I am an optimist.
    Like my dad,
    I like to think
    people will do the right thing.
  2. momentous
    of very great significance
    This all feels downright momentous.
  3. exodus
    a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment
    We read the Bible,
    so I know the Book of Exodus begins with the words
    These are the names
  4. bondage
    the state of being under the control of another person
    ...a new pharaoh rose up in Egypt
    who knew not Joseph,
    and who put all those descendants of Israel
    to work at hard bondage:
    slavery.
  5. frilly
    having decorative ruffles or similar ornamentation
    My bedroom shared with Mamie—
    a sweet room, with red-robin-printed wallpaper,
    a dressing table with frilly coverlet,
    a closet full of clothes,
    a two-story dollhouse on the floor—
    a refuge.
  6. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    Our front stoop—
    sturdy cement, awning overhead—
    a citadel.
  7. citadel
    a stronghold for shelter during a battle
    Our front stoop—
    sturdy cement, awning overhead—
    a citadel.
  8. manna
    food that God gave the Israelites during the Exodus
    My father’s biscuits,
    manna from heaven.
  9. ambrosia
    the food and drink of the gods
    My mother’s chocolate pie,
    ambrosia to sweeten the manna.
  10. mortified
    made to feel uncomfortable because of shame or wounded pride
    ...and there I stand
    before all my white classmates,
    nervous
    but not mortified
    (what will be, will be).
  11. complexion
    the coloring of a person's face
    So my two great-great-grandmothers,
    slaves,
    had children with light complexions,
    and narrow noses like yours (and mine),
    and thin mouths like yours (and mine),
    white enough to pass for white,
    which means that
    in the branches of my family tree
    there are ancestors
    who are as white
    as you.
  12. haven
    a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary
    Class is now a haven,
    A place we can hide.
  13. sneer
    a facial expression of contempt or scorn
    Hallways feeling different.
    Glare.
    Mutter.
    Sneer.
  14. defamation
    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
    “You and your people have been nicer to me than my own relatives, but I just don’t believe in mixing of the races in school.”
    —Mrs. Smith to Jo Ann’s mother, as quoted in an Anti- Defamation League field report
  15. steadfast
    marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
    Maybe
    all the years of friendliness,
    the sugar-borrowing and the joking with my father,
    depended on us staying steadfastly
    in our place
    and out of their school.
  16. poltergeist
    a ghost that creates disorder and noise
    ...he’s everywhere,
    he’s haunting Clinton,
    he’s a poltergeist
  17. contorted
    twisted, especially as in pain or struggle
    ...the burning eyes
    the contorted faces
    the spitting
    the hair-pulling
    the tomato-throwing
  18. scorn
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    When I see the hatred
    When I hear the scorn
    Of a town possessed
    With its decency torn.
  19. decency
    the quality of being polite and respectable
    When I see the hatred
    When I hear the scorn
    Of a town possessed
    With its decency torn.
  20. righteousness
    the quality of adhering to moral principles
    It wasn’t out of any firm belief
    in the righteousness of desegregation.
  21. wispy
    thin and weak
    He may not look
    strongly
    anything—
    so wispy, a little bent
  22. unanimous
    in complete agreement
    The students of Clinton High School vote.

    It’s unanimous:
    Mr. Brittain should stay.
  23. belfry
    a tower in which bells are hung
    Our nice, quiet, picture-pretty,
    yes ma’am, no sir,
    five-tower-bells-in-the- belfry courthouse
    has gone mob-crazy.
  24. rabble
    a disorderly crowd of people
    On this night,
    the rabble returns to the courthouse square,
    more speeches, more shouting
  25. hinder
    prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    Kasper still in jail,
    but that doesn’t hinder
    the two thousand people
  26. bigoted
    blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion
    They saw the lawless trampling
    of the bigoted stampede.
  27. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    The nights of wild rabble,
    the faces warped with hate,
    threats and curses, fevered speeches
  28. khaki
    a sturdy type of cloth that is a light brown color
    So now the men in khaki clothes
    patrol the streets and lanes.
  29. deter
    turn away from as by fear or persuasion
    Their bayoneted guns deter
    the racists’ harsh campaigns.
  30. shrill
    being sharply insistent on being heard
    How strange to feel so comforted
    by soldiers dressed for war,
    but you would feel the same
    if you had heard the mob’s shrill roar.
  31. horde
    a moving crowd
    Looking on the bright side,
    the soldiers come to the rescue,
    point their rifles at the horde
    and help the sailor escape the mob
  32. quirk
    a strange attitude or habit
    Labor Day:
    a holiday
    to honor those who work,
    like my dad, who, but for the quirk
    of bigotry could work
    much more, much better
    without the fetter
    of racism that blocks him out
    from jobs that white men get
  33. fetter
    a shackle for the ankles or feet
    Labor Day:
    a holiday
    to honor those who work,
    like my dad, who, but for the quirk
    of bigotry could work
    much more, much better
    without the fetter
    of racism that blocks him out
    from jobs that white men get
  34. keen
    having or showing great excitement and interest
    ...he’s through-and-through
    a man folks want to be around, and I have seen
    him charm the white folks (lots of them)—he’s got that keen
    and clever conversation, that’s my pops
  35. adjutant
    an officer who acts as an assistant to a more senior officer
    We have a special guest in our living room:
    Major General Joe W. Henry,
    State Adjutant General in Command
    of the National Guard.
Created on Tue Apr 19 09:26:39 EDT 2022 (updated Mon Apr 25 13:24:20 EDT 2022)

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