In the summer of 1955, fourteen-year-old Clement enters a general store in Money, Mississippi to purchase a soda.  Unaware of the consequences of flouting the rules governing black-white relations in the South, this Chicago native defies tradition, by laying a dime on the counter and turns to depart.  Miss Cuthbert, the store attendant, demands that he place the money in her hand, but he refuses, declaring, "I ain't no slave!" and exits with a sense of entitlement unknown to black people at the time.  His behavior results in his brutal murder.  This event sparks a war in Money, forcing the black community to galvanize its strength in pursuit of equality.

DANIEL OMOTOSHO BLACK is a native of Kansas City, Kansas yet spent the majority of his childhood years in Blackwell, Arkansas. He is an associate professor at his alma mater Clark Atlanta University where he now aims to provide an example to young African Americans of the importance of self-knowledge and communal commitment. He is also the author of THEY TELL ME OF A HOME.