This section of the book so far has been the heaviest in my opinion . It starts off with Kiese departing from his mom and starting life at Millsaps College. He touches on the topic of being culturally shocked while attending a PWI. He says, ¨The students surrounding us were only white, and all of us were Mississippi, black, and abundant¨(121). For Kiese, it seems that being around white people makes him more socially aware of the black experience in a grand sense. Rather than feeling bad about where he comes from, he stands strong on the fact that he´s black and he is incorporating that into every aspect of his life. He even feels obligated to represent African Americans in a positive light by carefully choosing how he participates in his classes. In this section of the book, food is also making more of a statement on his identity as he turns to food in times of discomfort and sadness. His mother points out how big he is getting and so does his friend, Ray Gunn. He also begins to experience a new love with Nzola. Along with love, he realizes that he is a black feminist but he does not know how to be that while also being a black man. Through reading powerful books by black authors, he comes to terms with his identity which led to a change of diet and the loss of weight.

The meat of this section of the book is that Kiese gets the opportunity to write a paper on racism in his school. The paper was published and he became the talk of the town. Being a black man and writing an essay about racism in a PWI put him in a lot of controversy. His close friends and family warned him to be careful. He soon starts to receive death threats and get called racial slurs putting his safety in danger. This is a sad situation because it just shows how the white man is afraid of the black man having a voice and speaking out against issues that are perpetuated by the white man. Even throughout history, this issue has often caused the white man to fight against the renewal of the black mans mind with violence, threats, and torture.

Lastly, the element of this book that has been most heartfelt to me is the relationship between him and his mother. It is to my surprise that even while in college, he sends his mother every paper for her approval. Even after getting beat for having bad grades in college , not wanting to do book summaries when he was younger, and the general instability of their relationship, her love and impact on him shows up in almost every aspect of his life. Through books and her discipline, shes impacted him into becoming a strong minded person who has a sense of individuality. This section of the book really shows how their love blossomed from a blurry concept to something more concrete. After getting kicked out of Millsapps and transferring to Oberline College, Kiese says to his mom¨I will never forget the day I told you I´d be back soon, the day I burst your heart wide open,…. the day you called me your child, your best friend, your reason for living¨(162). This part of the book felt so warm. It made me think about my mom and so many other black women I know. It made me think about how black women specifically, are such selfless beings and they truly do give their life for their kids. This part of the book was so emotional for me that It actually made me a teary-eyed. And I don´t get teary-eyed a lot.