Williams's mother worked for the Belks, a wealthy white family in Monroe, Williams recalls, and in their home she endured many indignities. Williams remembers that her mother's treatment brought her mother to tears and describes two particularly stinging incidents: a thirteen year-old white girl's demand that her mother address her as "Miss" and the family's direction that she serve their dog bacon and eggs for breakfast, a lavish meal they knew Williams's mother could not provide for her own family. This lack of respect was tempered somewhat by the treatment Williams received for her association with the Belk family, but it was a curious kind of respect.