It's 1968. Delphine, and her two young sisters, Vonetta and Fern, journey from Brooklyn, NY, to Oakland, California to spend a month with a mother they have never really known. According to their father, it is time they spend some time Cecile.
The three girls board the plane with varying degrees of excitement. Delphine has vague memories of her mother, Vonetta was just a baby, and Cecile was pregnant with little Fern. All Delphine remembers is watching Cecile leave days after the birth of her third daughter. The story Delphine has always heard was that their father refused to allow Cecile to name the newest baby one of her made-up, imaginary names. She took one last look at her newborn daughter in her crib and left.
The visit to Oakland is quite the adventure. Cecile, a self-described poet, is busy with her art and doesn't have time for the foolishness of taking care of three young girls. During the day, she ships them off to a community center for free breakfast and lunch at a summer school program sponsored by the Black Panthers. Delphine, used to watching over her sisters, takes on the role of mother as she plans activities, cooks supper for all of them, and keeps the peace when her mother is agitated.
Despite her mother's odd and neglectful behavior, Delphine is determined to connect with her and get to know as much as she can about this strange woman. They may not get to visit Disneyland, but they do take memories back to Brooklyn of an independent woman and first hand knowledge of an important time in the history of civil rights.
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