1. The Gold Cadillac
By: Mildred d. Taylor

2. Quick Write Did you know that at one point there were:
Separate drinking fountains and restrooms for whites and African Americans?
Restaurants in which African Americans were not allowed to eat?
These things used to be a reality, right here in the United States. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s ended most forms of segregation.
Write down your thoughts on the conditions described above. What can people do to prevent this kind of injustice today?

3. Vocabulary
Evident: apparent, obvious; plain or clear in understanding or sight.
Rural: having to do with country life or country people.
Heedful: careful; attentive; keeping in mind.
Ignorance: uneducated, unaware; lack of knowledge or awareness.

4. Background
The novella The Gold Cadillac takes place around African Americans, especially those living in the South during this time, continued to be treated unfairly. Experiences like the one the family in the story has when entering Mississippi outraged blacks and many whites. During the Civil Rights Era of the mid-1950s and 1960s, many people demanded changes in the laws across the nation.