Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?

In the summer of 1968, Kitty and Nathan are busy with work. Sarah, under Nellie’s care, is doing well at school. Nellie and Kitty have agreed to tell Sarah when she is older.

In December 1968, two FBI agents come to Kitty and Nathan’s house and ask about Blair House. The FBI agents have copies of old checks that Kitty wrote to Blair House’s various charities. The FBI is investigating the organization for fraud because the “charities” that Blair House claimed to fund often did not exist. Instead, the money went to civil rights causes like the Montgomery bus boycott. After the FBI agents leave, Nathan and Kitty get into a fight. Nathan reveals that he has had the young photographer Michael Walker following Kitty for years. Through the photos Michael took, Nathan learned that Sarah was still alive and being raised as a Black child by Nellie. Nathan tells Kitty she has to stop getting mixed up in “politics” (347). An argument ensues:

‘People are dying—have died—all over the country for the simplest of things. For the right to be, to exist!’

‘And they aren’t you.’

‘They are me! You’ll never understand what it’s like’ (348).

Although Nathan and Kitty reach a resolution, a rift forms. Ultimately, the FBI investigation into Blair House proves fruitless.

The narrative returns to Elise’s point of view on October 31, 2017, the day of Sarah’s birthday party. Jasper attends the party, and he and Elise talk. Jasper reveals that his grandfather, Michael Walker, was hired by Nathan to take photos of Kitty. Jasper knows Kitty’s secret, and he plans to publish a book about his own family history that will, in the process, unearth Kitty’s hidden history. Elise asks Jasper not to publish the book. He retorts, “This isn’t just Kitty’s story. It’s my grandfather’s too. I have a legal right to it. My grandfather owned his photographs, and I own his estate” (358). However, Jasper wants Elise’s support before publishing the book. Elise remains unresolved.

On November 1, 2017, Elise confronts Sarah about the truth about Kitty and Nellie. Elise wants to share Kitty’s truth, but Sarah wants to hide it: “The safest thing to do is leave her White” (364). Sarah says that she is not angry with Kitty, just angry that she had had no other choices than to give her up. She is afraid of what will happen if the truth comes out, telling Elise, “Unleashing this story exposes the White roots that burrow, snake, and choke. I don’t want to be choked” (366).

The narrative jumps back to the spring of 1969. Nathan and Kitty have found peace about Sarah. Kitty still meets with Nellie and Sarah regularly and shares updates and photos with Nathan. To give Sarah a bright future, Nathan and Kitty come up with a plan: They will write an interracial sitcom, The Daisy Lawson Show, and cast Sarah in it. The show becomes a hit, and Sarah becomes a child star.

The narrative reverts to Elise’s point of view on November 1, 2017. Elise answers the door at the St. John home to find two FBI agents. The agents ask Elise about her relationship with Kitty and Blair House, as well as about her Instagram posts, including the picture Elise posted of Colin Kaepernick. Elise asks the FBI agents to leave.

The next day, Elise is in New York City for her Vogue photoshoot. She spends the night with Jasper while she’s there. Jasper shares his grandfather’s story with her in greater detail, and Elise gives Jasper her blessing to publish his book. However, when Elise tells Jasper about the FBI visit, he decides to pause publication. Elise and Jasper share a romantic night. When Elise leaves Jasper’s apartment the next morning to get them coffee and breakfast, she makes sure the paparazzi are there to snap photos of her grabbing breakfast for two people. Elise plans to use these photos, along with the photos of Aaron’s own infidelity, to spin the media and control the narrative of her imminent breakup with Aaron.

Elise, Sarah, and Elise’s sisters, Giovanni and Noele, meet with some of Kitty’s old compatriots from Blair House, including Lucy, on November 4, 2017. They have all been visited by the FBI. Lucy summarizes the issue: “We siphoned donations from rich people to send to the [Civil Rights] movement” (383). If the FBI finds out, the women could face accusations of fraud.

After the Blair House women leave, Elise and her family discuss what to do with Kitty’s inheritance. Elise suggests they could use the money to organize some kind of reparations for Black people. Elise’s sisters question the practicality of the idea: “What time periods are the reparations for? Is it enough? How Black do people have to be?” (387). Sarah has the final word, saying that the sisters can donate the money quietly if they wish, but they should not share the truth about Kitty’s past.

Finally, Elise reveals to her sisters her own background with police brutality. When Elise was five years old, she and her father were driving to the airport to visit family in North Carolina. Elise’s father was pulled over by police with guns drawn. The officers used a racial slur. Elise’s father was tackled to the ground as soon as he got out of the car. When an officer grabbed Elise, she fought back. Elise and her father were taken into custody and held for nine hours. Elise, terrified, wet her pants. The St. Johns sued the LAPD. Elise, a traumatized child, decided not to testify—something she still regrets to this day.

Elise meets with Rebecca, her friend and publicist. Rebecca’s grandmother, Claire Pew (Shirley Claire), also got a letter from Kitty after Kitty’s passing, and Rebecca now knows Kitty’s history too. Like Sarah, Rebecca warns Elise against revealing the truth about Kitty. Rebecca has her own interests in keeping Kitty’s past a secret: “Talking about Kitty means we’ll have to talk about my family too. Some of them are no better than the rapists and murderers in the news. If people go digging into Kitty’s history, they’ll find Teddy Lakes” (392). Elise talks to Rebecca about her plans to end her relationship with Aaron, and Rebecca agrees to help her spin the media accordingly.

In the months following Kitty’s death, the St. John sisters continue to research Kitty’s past and consider what to do with her inheritance. Jasper—who never published his book—also helps. Together, Jasper and Elise brainstorm what an ideal reparations plan could look like.

The book jumps ahead to March 2018. Elise has just won the Oscar for Best Actress. In her acceptance speech, Elise reveals that she is Kitty Karr Tate’s granddaughter and tells the truth about Kitty’s birth to a Black mother in the South and subsequent rise in Hollywood as a white woman. She announces that she and her sisters will be donating Kitty’s estate to a reparations fund.