Betty Before X

Shirley asks Betty is she’s scared of starting high school. Betty can’t wait. She can join the Delsprites—a community service club for Black teenaged girls—and her invitation came today. In the group, she’ll get to wear red and purple, and she will volunteer for local organizations that help children. She and Suesetta are three blocks from home when a boy shouts that the police are killing people.

At home, Mrs. Malloy makes Mr. Malloy turn off the radio. The next morning, Betty learns that police killed 15-year-old Leon Mosley by shooting him in the back. They claim he was joyriding in a stolen vehicle. There are many conflicting accounts, but all agree that he was shot in the back, an indication that he was not advancing toward police officers in a way that could be used to justify the killing. Betty is desperate to go back to the day before, when Leon was alive, and this new horror couldn’t weigh on her and disrupt the League’s momentum.

When Kay and Suesetta arrive, Kay says they’re going to a march. Betty declines their invitation and says she’s staying home. As she mops, Betty says a prayer for Leon. She thinks of the lynched bodies from her childhood and there are tears in her eyes. She notices that Mrs. Malloy is also trying not to cry.

It’s hard for Betty to count her blessings that night. She isn’t sure who or what to be thankful for. She prays for Leon’s family and hopes that she’ll never need to say a prayer like this again.

A week after Leon’s death, protestors have finally stopped marching. The DJ on the radio says that Billy Eckstine is coming to Detroit next month. Betty wonders if she could sneak out to get a glimpse of him but knows that it’s probably impossible.

The song reminds her of Phyllis. Betty calls her without knowing exactly why. Phyllis stays on the phone this time as they talk about Leon. Betty says she heard on the radio that there’s a way to donate money to his family for the funeral. She proposes pooling their money for a joint donation. Phyllis suggests asking Suesetta Bethel for a special donation. Betty doesn’t know if they’ll rekindle their friendship with Suesetta, but it feels good to work together. She knows what she will be grateful for tonight in her prayers.

The NAACP hosts a ceremony for local Black leaders at a luxurious banquet hall. Suesetta and Betty volunteer as greeters and then watch from the balcony after everyone is seated. Betty admires the dresses and the suits as Pastor Dames opens the evening. He reminds them that there are still reasons to be grateful. The opposition they face, even though Leon’s death is shocking, is not new. He says that when the old people are done, it is their responsibility to leave the young people with a map. He then introduces Billy Eckstine and the singer, Sarah Vaughan. Betty and Suesetta cheer the loudest when the performance ends. She thinks of the crowd as the roots of the trees that have been planted long ago, “so grounded that even though they bend, they don’t break” (214).

In the morning, Betty realizes that she slept peacefully. She starts the day by counting her blessings: people coming together, her part in their union, having a mother and father, Suesetta, her siblings, and Ollie Mae. She also gives thanks for the blessing of their struggle and fight. Finally, she is grateful for “The blessing of giving love, of being loved” (216).