In "Thank you, M'am," what are the similarities between Roger and Mrs. Luella Bates Washington?

Both Roger and Mrs. Bates come from the same racial and economic backgrounds.  Both are African-American and poor.  This commonality creates a bond between them in the story when Mrs. Bates tells Roger about her own troubled youth when she, too, did some things she wasn’t proud of doing.  She relates her life story to Roger after carrying him by the scruff of his neck back to her modest apartment when he tries to steal...

Both Roger and Mrs. Bates come from the same racial and economic backgrounds.  Both are African-American and poor.  This commonality creates a bond between them in the story when Mrs. Bates tells Roger about her own troubled youth when she, too, did some things she wasn’t proud of doing.  She relates her life story to Roger after carrying him by the scruff of his neck back to her modest apartment when he tries to steal her purse.  Roger is a little unsure and scared of Mrs. Bates, at first, but he realizes that she has something to teach him about life (plus she’s cooking him a meal!).  Mrs. Bates explains how she overcame her digressions in the past to be employed and independent.  She hopes that Roger will follow in her footsteps when she gives him $10.00 to buy the blue suede shoes he desperately wanted and stooped to a petty crime to obtain.  At the end of the story, Roger thanks Mrs. Bates not only for the $10.00 but for the efforts she makes to convince him to take the right path in life.