Banned Books: Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry

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Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Synopsis
Nine year old Cassie Logan is growing up in the deep south of Mississippi, where the rich owners of the cotton plantations are white and the poor tenement farmers are black. It is the Great Depression, and money is tight for all, but even more so for the unfairly treated black population. However, Cassie and her family are lucky. She lives in a big enough house with her Mama, Papa, Big Ma, and three brothers, Stacey {12}, Christopher John and Little Man, and later joined by Mr. Morrison.
Her grandpa bought 200 acres of cotton fields, paid off the mortgage, and then bought another two hundred acres. Although the Logans haven't paid off the mortgage on the second portion of the field, they feel confident they will, and bring up their daughter and sons with the knowledge that they are the fortunate ones. They own land, therefore they aren't slaves to anyone.
Through the novel, Cassie encounters various hardships. From being splattered on purpose by the white children's school bus as they walk to school to being tormented by Lillian Jean to being given the worst school supplies in the county, life isn't easy for the family. Alongside this, Stacey's temperamental friend T.J. aggravates and worries the Logan children in turn. When her Mama, a school teacher, gets into trouble with the school board and loses her job, money becomes even tighter. Further into the novel, there are a series of betrayals by T.J., which conclude with the threat of the chain gang, or even a hanging.


My Thoughts
Roll Of Thunder is a mix of inspiring and frightening. Taylor doesn't gloss over any aspects of racism. She shows the inequalities, the unfairness, the movements against the aforesaid, and she writes well. She writes with passion and I shudder to learn that these books are partly autobiographical. From the tarring and burning to the harsh names to the general mistreatment of blacks, Roll Of Thunder discusses an important time in America's history. The language can, at times, be harsh. Derogatory terms are used, and the descriptions of certain punishments, though brief, aren't pleasant. But this book made me think. I highly recommend it. Unforgettable.


Banning
Roll Of Thunder was banned for the offensive, derogatory language. Read more here.
Have you read this book? Do you think books discussing racism should avoid nasty names, or does it more vividly show the harsh racism of the period?
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~Libby