Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry is a story about family, a proud and courageous African American family set in Mississippi in 1933. This is the second book by Mildred D. Taylor about the Logan family, the first being Song of the Trees. There are two additional books that follow the events of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry which are Let the Circle Be Unbroken and The Road to Memphis.
The Logan family consists of Big Ma, Mama (Mary), Papa (David), Uncle Hammer (Luke), Stacey, Cassie, Christopher-John and Little Man. The family owns 400 acres of land that had been purchased from the Grangers; 200 acres they own free and clear and the other 200 acres are mortgaged. This story covers a year in the life of the Logan’s; a year where Cassie starts learning the hard realities of racism as she realizes the books they were given at school had been passed down after they become so poor that white students would no longer use them and is publically humiliated by a white girl.
Due to the low prices of cotton, Cassie’s father must work the railroad to supplement their families’ income. Her mother, Mary, is a teacher while Uncle Hammer works in Chicago. Since Mr. Granger will do anything to get his land back, the threat of losing the land always hangs over the families head. There are night riders, who come in the night and attack families, so Papa sends Mr. Morrison to watch over his family during his absence. The Wallace’s, who rode with the night riders, own a store that overcharges its customers ensuring that when the crops come in the families have little to live on. Their store is also a place where African American children drink and smoke and as the story progresses Mary boycotts the store and encourages other to do so. This angers Mr. Granger and he eventually gets Mary fired from her teaching job, and gets the bank to call in the taxes and deny the family credit all while David is recovering from broken leg which occurred when his wagon fell on top of him after he got shot in the head.
Stacey’s friend, TJ, ends up hanging around with two white boys after everyone at school shuns him after learning it was him that caused Mary to lose her teaching job. Framed by the two white boy for robbery, the night riders come to drag TJ from his house, bloodied and bruise. The four Logan children look on helpless until the riders announce they have three ropes, and two of them are meant for Papa and Mr. Morrison. Papa sets fire to his own fields in order to make Mr. Granger stop the hangings; TJ goes to jail, but Cassie realizes that while she will walk free, TJ never will as one of the whites shopkeepers dies after the robbery.