Again, the adults in Byron and Kenny’s life mention tensions surrounding racial inequality and segregation—issues that the young boys haven’t had to face in their daily lives (at least not in immediately observable ways). Birmingham, however, was at the center of the civil rights movement in 1963, so it’s unlikely that the children will be able to ignore what’s going on any longer. For the time being, though, Byron is more focused on the fact that his parents have decided to punish him by sending him away, which he finds deeply unfair.