Genesis Begins Again

Sharon Anderson is Genesis’s mother and Emory’s wife. Because the novel is told through Genesis’s first-person perspective, Sharon is usually referred to as “Mama.” Genesis describes Mama as beautiful and light-skinned, so light that when she was a baby, people told Grandma she looked white. Genesis says Mama’s “hair’s naturally straight and long, and sometimes she curls it in big, round ringlets. It’s so pretty that total strangers comment on it” (127). Emory describes Mama as “simply divine” with “a smile that’ll make a man spend all his money” (95).

Mama is a loving, hard-working wife and mother, but she places too much trust in her husband. She works at a nursing home for minimum wage, which as Grandma points out, is not enough to make a living. Mama relies on Emory financially, even though he has proven that he is not trustworthy with money. Mama stands by Emory and clings to the hope that he will get better to the detriment of her and Genesis. By continuously placing her trust in Emory that this time he will be better, she puts her and Genesis’s living situation in peril. She also makes excuses for Emory that he doesn’t mean to be hurtful to Genesis, he just had a difficult childhood.

Mama grows over the course of the novel to be more independent and braver for not only Genesis’s sake, but for hers as well. She grows to realize that she “was stuck in the habit of defending [Emory], or rather defending the man [she] chose to marry” (212). Genesis’s bravery helps her to see that “it’s time [she] stop[s] being afraid” (291). By the end of the novel, Mama has come to see that Genesis is not her “little girl” anymore, but a brave young woman who inspires her to be better.

Emory Anderson is Genesis’s father. He is married to Sharon, Genesis’s mother. Emory has a history of alcohol and gambling abuse, which has long served as a point of contention in his marriage and has posed a constant threat to his family’s housing situation. In the beginning of the novel, Genesis and her parents have been evicted because Emory has again forgotten to pay the rent. He finds them a new home in a well-off neighborhood in Farmington Hills and claims that he is a shoo-in for a promotion at work, but it is soon revealed that he was late in paying rent twice, almost got them evicted again, and was fired from his job without telling Sharon. Throughout the course of the novel, Emory proves that he is an unreliable husband, father, and employee who struggles to take responsibility and take care of his family.

Emory has left a deeply damaging impact on Genesis, both due to his substance abuse and issues resulting from a traumatic childhood. In his good moments, Emory is nice to Genesis and shares his love of music with her. In his bad moments, he is drunk and cruel to Genesis, angry that she is dark-skinned like him and looks nothing like Sharon. He is also defensive with Sharon, adamant that he doesn’t need to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings.

A pivotal character moment for Emory is a memory that haunts Genesis: Emory was drunk and ranted that Sharon didn’t give him a pretty baby, but instead gave him Genesis, or “Chubby Cheeks” as he calls her. She is dark skinned like him, and he hates it.

At the end of the novel, Emory shows signs of growth and seems like he is genuinely trying to turn a new leaf. He admits to Genesis that he doesn’t hate her, but every time he looks at her, he sees himself as a child. His mother constantly berated him for being dark skinned and claimed he was never going to amount to anything. He doesn’t want Genesis to be like him, and he regrets how much he has messed everything up for Genesis and Mama.

Genesis’s grandma, or Sharon’s mother, is described as having “big eyes like Mama’s, but hers are even prettier” (17). Genesis and Mama stay with Grandma after they get evicted in the beginning of the novel. They have stayed with Grandma in past times they’ve been evicted, but purely out of necessity. Sharon hates staying with her mom because Grandma is often judgmental and gives Sharon a hard time for choosing to marry Emory. Genesis says that Grandma’s “snaps are sharper than an alligator’s” (15). Despite how hard she is on Mama, Grandma’s frustration with Sharon is mainly because she worries so much about her. She pushes because she cares and wants her daughter to be secure and happy.

Grandma’s stubbornness also leads to problematic thinking that isn’t likely to change. She believes in her father’s family tradition that marrying dark-skinned Black people is marrying “down” because in her family’s eyes, light-skinned Black people are more hard-working, successful, and overall superior. Her deep-rooted beliefs are damaging to Genesis, who comes to fear that Grandma might be right. Grandma doesn’t show major signs of growth throughout the novel because she is very much stuck in her ways; however, her apology to Mama is genuine and shows that she wants to try and be more supportive of her daughter’s life choices. Her belief in the family tradition, however, does not change.

Sophia is one of Genesis’s classmates at Farmington Hills Middle who soon becomes her first ever best friend. Genesis describes Sophia as a “thin but not skinny” girl with glasses, a “regular” mouth and nose, and “nice brown eyes” (80). When Genesis first meets Sophia, she can’t figure out why the other girls make fun of her because she seems like a normal girl, even “kinda pretty” (80). Sophia later confides to Genesis that she has OCD and that is why the other girls make fun of her and why she doesn’t have any other friends.

Like Troy, Sophia shows Genesis that being popular isn’t as important as having friends who love her for who she is. Throughout the novel, Sophia proves to be one of the most supportive people in Genesis’s life. She doesn’t try to interfere in Genesis’s decisions, even when she disagrees with or is wary of them such as when Genesis agrees to sing with Yvette and Jason, or when she tries to lighten her skin with bleaching cream. Along with Troy, Sophia helps Genesis grow over the course of the novel by showing her what true friendship looks like. In turn, Sophia grows as well. It is clear throughout the novel that living with OCD poses serious challenges for Sophia, who struggles immensely with people staring at her or touching her belongings. Her inviting Genesis to eat lunch with her in the library, her quiet, “chill” place, and then inviting her to her house for dinner shows courage, especially when making friends has been difficult for her (103). She allows herself to be vulnerable with Genesis and share with her that she has OCD, a huge step for her after misplacing her trust in Yvette.

On her first day at Farmington Hills, Genesis describes Troy as dark-skinned like her. Like the rest of Genesis’s classmates, Troy shows Genesis’s growth throughout the course of the novel. On the first day of class, she forms an opinion of him by his appearance alone when she assumes “he must be into sports because his arm muscles nearly burst through his sweater” (55). Later in the novel, Troy tells her that people always assume because of the shade of his skin that he should be a rapper or an athlete. In reality, Troy is a straight A student who plays classical violin and reads comic books.

Troy becomes one of Genesis's closest friends, even though she first assumes her tutor is going to be “some nerdy white kid [who tries] to make [her] out to be a dumb Detroit girl” (74). Troy serves as an early example to Genesis that people are not defined by the shade of their skin. He also acts as a foil to Genesis. While Genesis cares deeply about what others think, Troy doesn’t buy into “the hype.” Genesis thinks, “Being Black like me ain’t nothin’ to be proud about,” (154) whereas Troy’s parents used thinkers like W. E. B. DuBois and Malcolm X to teach him that “no matter where we came from, we can still be great” (99). Like Nia, Troy represents a more evolved way of thinking that extends beyond superficial things like popularity and appearances.

Mrs. Hill is Genesis’s chorus teacher. On her first day of school, Genesis is thrilled to discover that Mrs. Hill is her teacher because she is the only Black adult she has seen in the school. Genesis describes her as having a “caramel brown” face and a “short, curly Afro,” and big, round cheeks with “deep dimples” (64). Meeting Mrs. Hill fills her with her first real sense of comfort at Farmington Hills Middle. Not only does she identify with Mrs. Hill as a Black woman, but she also feels encouraged and inspired by Mrs. Hill’s passion for music. Mrs. Hill introduces Genesis to the music of Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Ella Fitzgerald, and teaches her that music can be a creative and cathartic outlet for powerful emotions.

Music serves as a symbol of self-acceptance. Genesis struggles to accept herself because she cares so deeply about what other people think of her. The rare moments where Genesis allows herself to just fully bask in the present and be her most authentic is when she is either pretending to be onstage performing, or later, when she is onstage performing. Mrs. Hill is the one who tells Genesis that her voice is a gift and urges her to audition for the talent show, which culminates to a major turning point in Genesis’s journey when she sings for the first time in front of people, by herself. Mrs. Hill serves to inspire Genesis throughout the novel to sing not just because she is talented, but because singing allows her to truly feel her feelings and express both her sorrow and joy with authenticity and freedom.

On her first day at school, Genesis describes Nia as a girl with light brown skin and dreadlocks. She smells like jasmine or gardenias. At first, Genesis judges Nia for her hair, thinking to herself that “ain’t no boys checkin’ for her with that never-seen-a-comb-before hair” and that “it’s a waste to be a Lite-Brite with a nappy hairstyle like dreadlocks” (54-5). Other students like Yvette and Belinda also make rude comments about her hair. Yvette claims, “her hair stinks” and that she probably doesn’t even wash it (253). She also calls her “stuck up” and a “freak” (254). Throughout the novel, we see Nia through Genesis’s perspective as unusual because of her hairstyle and because she is never seen talking to anyone. As Genesis begins to learn more about Nia, however, it becomes clear that Nia is far from stuck-up. She is creative and independent, and her writing captivates Genesis and her classmates.

Nia represents who Genesis could be if she didn’t care as much about what everyone else thinks about her appearance. She also serves as a subtle nod to Genesis’s growth throughout the novel. In the beginning, Genesis forms an opinion of Nia by her hair alone. Later, she realizes that she judges Nia the same way Grandma judges her and her dad and decides “Nia can be who she wants” (254). By the end of the novel, Genesis views Nia as a friend whom she admires, showing that Genesis no longer forms an opinion about people just by their appearance alone.