Content Warning: This summary, analysis, and subsequent sections of this guide include discussions of minstrel shows, an offensive form of 19th- and early 20th-century theater that presented racist depictions of African Americans.

The novel opens with the high school graduation ceremony of Emma Lou Morgan, a young African American woman from Boise, Idaho. Emma Lou reflects that she is the only Black face in a sea of white students, and although she is not necessarily unhappy to be African American, she does regret being what she terms “too black.” As a graduating senior, Emma Lou is becoming aware of the politics of race and skin color, and the novel’s opening scene details her burgeoning understanding not only of race in America but also her own racialized position within society. Her skin is darker than the members of her immediate family and also darker than most of the other Black people in her community. Emma Lou’s skin color is a source of shame not only for Emma Lou but her mother and grandmother. During the ceremony, Emma Lou muses that because of her dark skin, her post-graduation options will be limited, and although she is happy to be graduating, she is ultimately unsure how useful her diploma will be.