When does the tone, or the author's attitude, shift during Rashad's narration? How does this errible incident set the tone for the rest of the novel?

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.

i think she wanted to protect her children from the extreme racism of the american south.

educational segregation in the us prior to brown.

the members of the u.s. supreme court that on may 17, 1954, ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

judgment and order of the supreme court for the case.

u.s. circuit judges robert a. katzmann, damon j.

the u.s. supreme court's decision in brown v. board of education marked a turning point in the history of race relations in the united states. on may 17, 1954, the court stripped away constitutional sanctions for segregation by race, and made equal opportunity in education the law of the land.