In Derecka Purnell’s ‘Becoming Abolitionists,’ History is a Guide
injustice on her own behalf was in kindergarten. Early into her debut book Becoming Abolitionists, the lawyer and organizer tells the story of a lunch lady who denied her attempt at taking chocolate milk from the cafeteria provisions one day. Pernell deduced that because a peer had been allowed to obtain the coveted drink after giving this beverage gatekeeper some money, she could do the same when she brought a few coins the next day. To her surprise, a teacher intervened and told her she did not have to pay. Later, Purnell’s mother explained to her that because she was part of the free lunch program, the lunch lady had decided that she was “unworthy of chocolate milk” and attempted to deny her of it.