Discussion Questions

1. What is the significance of the title, White Gloves and Collards?
   
2. The Confederate monument at the foot of Edenton’s Broad Street is fraught with symbolism. What did it mean to young Helen? Can you think of other symbols that perpetuate the romanticism of the Old South?
   
3. Political and social events such as the Greensboro sit-ins and the assassinations of President Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. play a role in the author’s emerging view of the world. How were you or your parents personally affected by those events?
   
4. In chapter 33, the author laments that her childhood relationships were limited by Jim Crow and its aftermath. How so? In what ways has your own life experience been limited by social barriers?
   
5. Young Helen observes class differences within her extended family. Why do you think she has an affinity for her mother’s side? 
   
6. In chapter 30, the author describes the civility between the races in Edenton. Do you think that the town’s culture of politeness inhibited social change or facilitated it?
   
7. The author compares her community’s fear of integration to hurricanes that make their way across the Albemarle Sound. How has your own community handled social change over the years?
   
8. Based on young Helen’s observations of her own mother, what were some of the challenges of being a single mother during the 1950s and early 60s? In what ways is it easier or more difficult today?
   
9. Beginning with the death of her father, young Helen endures a series of losses. How do age and maturity affect her handling of those tragedies?
   
10. After the birth of her son, the adult Helen’s image of her mother begins to change. How have your perspectives of your own parents changed over time?
    
11. In chapter 9, young Helen notes that unlike her brother, who was born with a sense of fairness, it was something she’d have to learn. In what ways did Norfleet and Mama teach her? Do you believe that fairness is an innate quality?
    
12. Rather than a continuous narrative, the author uses vignettes and stories about her family to describe her childhood. What has been the role of storytelling in your own family history?