Achievement Has No Colour in The Queen of Palmyra by...

â€Å"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite† -Nelson Mandela. In the novel The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin, racial discrimination is a prominent issue in the small town of Millwood, Mississippi. Florence Forrest is a young caucasian girl who witnesses the brutality of her time and the horrific acts of racism that plagued her community and her family. In a town overrun by white supremacists, Eva Johnson is a naive foreigner who is determined to make a living regardless of if she is welcome or not. Eva Johnson’s journey†¦show more content†¦The corruption of young and innocent minds in the novel The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin is an ongoing issue in the life of Florence Forrest. Florence is put face-to-face with blatant discrimination in her hometown. The same town that helped to shape her morals through the course of her life. As a young girl, Florence comes face to face with the racism of her times as the townspeople blatantly disrespect the African-American community with ethnic slurs, and an overall sense of prejudice. After Florence has one of her first experiences with this racism, her mother pulls her aside and explains that â€Å"we say ‘Negroes’ in this house, that’s what they like to be called. Negroes. Never coloured, do you hear me young lady?† (Gwin 43). The cultural beliefs in Millwood, Mississippi not only had a lasting impact on Florence’s mother, but as a role model for Florence inevitably shapes her beliefs and creates her sense of right and wrong. Throughout the course of her life and witnessing the discrimination plaguing her country, Florence comes to realize that her father was not just Nighthawk in the KKK, but also the murderer of Eva Johnson. After furt her investigating into the past, Florence is determined to find out the truth about Eva’s murder and her instinct leads her to believe that her that father’s lack of morality was what truly