P.S. Be Eleven

The big surprise that Lucy was referring to is a television appearance by the Jackson Five, the all-Black boyband that brought lead singer Michael Jackson to fame during the 1960s. The show comes on after all three sisters’ bedtime, so they sneak into the living room to watch the show on low volume as Big Ma sleeps deeply in her chair. When the band sings “I Want You Back,” a song about lost love, Delphine develops a crush on one of the older, taller Jacksons in the background.

Delphine is familiar with the other Black performers on the show, singers Diana Ross and Sammy Davis, Jr., and she appreciates the significance of Black people finally appearing on national programs. Still, it is the tall Jackson who catches her attention. Big Ma wakes up and threatens to beat the girls with her strap if they don’t go to bed. She believes that it is ungodly to allow children to stay awake at night, and she also condemns onstage performers like the Jacksons. Delphine is crushed by her grandmother’s strict views.