The Nickel Boys

On the first day of school, Elwood and his classmates receive hand-me-down textbooks from the white high school. The white students are aware that their books will be given to black students, so they graffiti racial slurs into the margins. Each year, Elwood is dismayed to see such hateful phrases scrawled across the pages. This year, though, his new history teacher, Mr. Hill, does something different. Mr. Hill is a young black man who is involved in the Civil Rights Movement, having participated as a freedom rider and marched in multiple rallies. Saying that racist graffiti in textbooks always got to him, he instructs Elwood and the rest of the class to go through the books and color over the phrases with black markers. This strikes Elwood as a fantastic idea, and he wonders why he’s never done it before.

Elwood is an exceptional student, and Mr. Hill notices this. In particular, he picks up on the fact that Elwood is interested in the Civil Rights Movement. Until now, Elwood has been too young to participate in any of the marches or rallies that have taken place in Frenchtown, and though his grandmother would never let him take part in such activities, she supports the movement from afar. Now, though, Elwood hears of a plan to protest outside of the Florida Theatre, which still refuses to let black people in. It is 1963, and Elwood believes he’s old enough to participate in the cause.

Elwood thinks that his grandmother will be proud of him, especially since she herself participated in the Frenchtown bus boycott of the 1950s. However, this was only because she didn’t want to be the only woman in Frenchtown who still rode the bus. On the whole, she believes that acting above one’s station will only bring trouble. After all, her own father died in prison after refusing to make way for a white woman on the sidewalk. Furthermore, Elwood’s father came back from the army with ideas about equality that didn’t fit into the everyday life of Tallahassee.  Given these outcomes, she tells Elwood that he can’t go to the protest outside the Florida Theatre, saying that he has to focus on working at Mr. Marconi’s shop. 

Defying his grandmother’s orders, Elwood asks Mr. Marconi for the day off. Without hesitation, Marconi gives him the time off, and so Elwood makes his way to the Florida Theatre. At first, he feels out of place amongst the college students, all of whom are carrying signs. Eventually, though, Mr. Hill spots him and invites him to stand with him and a group of seniors at Elwood’s high school. These seniors shake his hand, giving him a kind of respect he’s never experienced. This comes as a pleasant surprise, and Elwood realizes that he’s been too focused on his own private fantasies about the Civil Rights Movement to recognize that people at his school also care about activism and equality.  

A friend of Elwood’s grandmother sees Elwood at the protest outside the Florida Theatre and relays the message. Three days later, his grandmother brings this up before giving him the silent treatment, recognizing that he’s too big to be spanked with a belt, which is what she used to do when he misbehaved. The ensuing week is grueling, since Elwood isn’t even allowed to listen to At Zion Hill. At the same time, though, he feels at one with himself after having participated in the protest. Recognizing this rewarding feeling, he starts looking forward to someday attending college, where he’ll act independently and pursue his dreams of activism and education.  

That summer—which is the last he spends in Tallahassee—Elwood receives a copy of James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son. Mr. Hill gives the book to him, and he immerses himself in it, taking note of Baldwin’s idea that “negroes are Americans and their destiny is the country’s destiny.” This idea helps Elwood understand why he wants to be part of the Civil Rights Movement, clarifying his belief that fighting for equality doesn’t only benefit the African American community, but the entire nation. To spread this message, he spends his time writing to local and activist newspapers and even gets one piece published by The Chicago Defender.

One summer day, Mr. Hill visits Elwood at Mr. Marconi’s shop. Dressed in casual clothing, he looks like he hasn’t thought about school for a very long time. Telling Elwood that he has an opportunity for him, he explains that he has a friend who works at Melvin Griggs Technical, which is an African American college near Tallahassee. Apparently, the college has opened classes to academically successful black students, and Mr. Hill’s friend asked him to spread the word to anyone who might be interested in and qualified to make use of this opportunity. Mr. Hill insists that Elwood is the perfect candidate, adding that the classes would be free of charge. When Elwood asks his grandmother if he can do this, she immediately agrees, so he prepares to enroll, deciding to take a course in British Literature.

The day before Elwood’s first class at Melvin Griggs, Mr. Marconi gives him a beautiful pen. The next day, he sets off toward the school, planning to hitchhike the seven miles between his house and the campus. On his way, he gets a ride from a black man driving an impressive car. After riding with the man for a short time, Elwood notices police lights flashing behind them, at which point a white police officer beckons them to the side of the road. Soon enough, Elwood sees the officer getting out of the patrol car with his gun drawn. “First thing I thought when they said to keep an eye out for a Plymouth,” the officer yells. “Only a nigger’d steal that.”