Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. ISBN 0-14-034893-4. Mildred D. Taylor. 1976. Newberry Medal. Young Adult. African-American.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildren D. Taylor, tells the story of the Logan family who live on a farm in Mississippi during a the racially divided Depression era. The main character, Cassie Logan, is a nine-year old girl. She, and her family encounter many racial injustices, but have learned to either endure them or fight back in a not so obvious way as a means to survive. They own land, a rarity compared to many of the other black families that live near by, which is extremely important to their father. Cassie seems somewhat naive about the racism that is surrounding her, until she encounters it more directly, when she accidentally runs into a white girl in town. She is forced to apologize and get down on the road by the girl, and her father. The trouble continues as her mama loses her job as a teacher for battling agains the racism in her community, and Cassie's good friend T.J. gets caught up with some white boys who frame him in a robbery, which leads to him almost being lynched. Cassie's father, however, sets fire to the land, which distracts the lynch mob, saving T.J.'s life. We see Cassie crying at the end of the story, because she has endured so much hate around her. She seems to be less aware of the racism and the struggles her family go through in the beginning of the story. She has lost her innocence.

This story highlights the importance of family. This family is living in a time when their very lives were threatened by simply existing, but they did not let that stop them from trying to perservere. As a teacher, I would discuss with my class struggles their own families have overcome and why family is important. In a classroom, I would use this story to talk about racism, as well. The Depression happened less than 100 years ago, with the civil rights movement taking place only 50 years ago. It is always good to remind students of the importance of educating themselves about different cultures, or people that are different from the in some way, to avoid ignorance and hate.