The Color Purple: Nettie Millions of Africans were sold into slavery by their society. After numerous generations and hard labor many African Americans recognized and cherished their ancestry. Like Nettie in The Color Purple, many lived for the moment in which they could return to their homeland -- their roots. Nettie, like so many others, realized she had an advantage of having been born in a civilized and industrialized country. She left with the missionaries to Africa in order to help "the downtrodden people from whom they sprang." (137) The Color Purple has the similarity of gender discrimination with the United States and