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Sarah Moore is Addy Walker's first and best friend.

Personality and Facts[]

Sarah has the same skin tone as Addy, big dark bright eyes, and very short hair like a boy's. It is unsaid why Sarah's hair is short, but it is likely that her hair is more kinky than Addy's and thus kept clipped short for ease. It it may also be to make working in a hot, stuffy environment easier, as often working class women kept their hair short. Sarah's family escaped enslavement from a plantation in Virginia about a year before Addy and Ruth arrived.

Sarah is very kind and friendly to Addy, making quick friends with her as soon as they meet. She is also very patient and served as a good teacher to Addy when she first arrived in Philadelphia, both on and out of school. Mrs. Ford finds Sarah to be loud and lively and misses her presence in Changes for Addy. She is a little more cynical, street-smart, and practical about the oppression in the North than Addy is, partially because her family has been in Philadelphia longer and she has already been through the struggles Addy has yet to experience in free life. Sarah has learned many of the harder lessons Addy learns early in her arrival, including the way Harriet Davis treats people and the way blacks and whites are segregated from each other.

She and Harriet do not get along at all. Harriet is disparaging of Sarah openly, and Sarah refused to be her "slave" when she started school last year; this is why Harriet does not like her.

Sarah is quite self-conscious and does not think highly of herself often. Her family is poorer than Addy's, and her shoes and clothes are not always in the best condition. Sarah's mom is a laundress, and Sarah is expected to assist her as they make more money when she is there to help. She later drops out of school to help her family make ends meet.

In The Books[]

Addy Learns a Lesson: A School Story[]

Addy first meets Sarah when she and her mother meet Ruth and Addy on the pier after their arrival. Sarah has a sunny smile and greets Addy like a long-lost friend. As they head to the church, Sarah asks where Addy came from and explains that her family escaped from Virginia and that Miss Dunn and her family came from a plantation in North Carolina. She then asks if Addy will be going to school and is glad to hear she will and assures her she will like school. As they arrive at a busy corner Sarah takes Addy's hand so they don't get lost. Sarah points to a street sign and explains that it tells where they are--Second Street--and that when her family first arrived she got lost a lot because she couldn't read the signs. She tells Addy it's nothing to be ashamed about in not knowing how to read and that she'll learn with help from her and Miss Dunn.

Insider Trinity A.M.E. Church, Sarah explains the pipe organ and the layout of the church, including the text above the pulpit. As they are greeted by many others, Sarah explains that while most of the people there are members of the church, some are escaped enslaved people who have just arrived like the Walkers. Sarah remains at the church while Mabel takes Ruth and Addy to Ford's Dress shop so Ruth can get a job.

In the week after their arrival--while Addy is staying alone in the garret--she is scared to go out alone because she can't read and the crowds of people scare her; Sarah told her about how a boy was pushed into the path of a speeding wagon and had both his legs crushed. She has only seen Sarah at church on Sunday because Sarah has to help her mother at her job. Sarah comes by--she was sent out to buy bluing and a cake of soap--and invites Addy to come with her. She says that school will start next week and that she can't wait, and that she and Addy can sit together at the double desk. She will wear her Christmas dress from last year on the first day. She also explains that some of the girls at school do dress fancy when Addy asks, and mentions Harriet. As a streetcar goes by, Sarah explains what it is and that they can't ride it even if they had the money for it because the one passing by is for whites only, and the ones that do allow blacks to ride only allow them to ride on the outside platform regardless of weather for the same fare--then tells Addy that's just how things are when she says it's not fair.

Sarah shows up the first day of school in a dark green dress with white trim that, while old, is clean and carefully mended. SHe assures Ruth that she'll look after Addy and won't let anything happen to her. When Miss Dunn arrives, she welcomes Sarah back and Sarah introduces her to Addy; Miss Dunn says that she knows Sarah will help her. She and Sarah sit together in the back at a double desk. Sarah helps Addy hold her slate pencil and practice the alphabet. When Addy writes her name for the first time, Sarah praises her and says it's clear enough to read, and Addy is glad to have made friends with Sarah.

Addy's Surprise: A Christmas Story[]

Happy Birthday, Addy!: A Springtime Story[]

Addy Saves The Day: A Summer Story[]

Changes for Addy: A Winter Story[]

Addy Studies Freedom[]

Addy's Wedding Quilt[]

Addy's Little Brother[]

A New Beginning: My Journey with Addy[]

In The Play[]

AddyPlayPromo

Sarah (left) with Addy and Harriet.

Sarah's role is slightly larger than in the books, though her characterization is not changed majorly; she, Harriet, and Addy are the only major children seen in the play with others only assumed, and she is there for Addy's birthday as well. She is present at the Christmas spelling bee and it is the fight between her and Harriet that leads to Addy's new doll being damaged.

In the Seattle production she was played by Felicia Vonshell Loud.

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