She was shocked by the 'lackluster' histories of African-Americans that she found in her history textbooks. When the family moved into a newly integrated Toledo neighborhood, ten-year-old Mildred was the only black child in her class at school and realized that her actions might be judged as representative of her race. Taylor's father attempted to instill in Mildred and her sister, Wilma, an awareness of their past and future. Taylor calls these stories 'a different history from the one I learned in school' and credits her father's storytelling with her decision to become a writer. However, for Taylor, the South of racism and segregation was also a 'South of family and community.' Familial strength is an important theme in Taylor's books, and stories about her family (aunts, uncles, and great-grandparents), as told by her father, were a staple of Taylor's childhood.

In the South that the Taylors visited, segregation was a tangible reality. Even after their move, the Taylor family took long car trips to the South, and Mildred's experience of this environment provided the settings for her future novels. He chose Toledo because he already had a large network of friends and relatives there. Several outbreaks of racially-motivated violence occurred in the Jackson area around September 1943, and Taylor's father decided to seek a new life for his family in the North. Mildred Taylor remained there until graduating from the University of Toledo in 1965. However, only three weeks after their daughter's birth, the Taylor family moved to Toledo, Ohio.

She later said she 'was born in a segregated city in a segregated state in a segregated America.' The Taylors had lived in Mississippi since the time of slavery. Mildred Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi on September 13, 1943, to Wilbert Lee and Deletha Marie (Davis) Taylor.

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