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African-American Literature

Taylor, Mildred. Roll of thunder, hear my cry. New York :  Dial, 1996. ISBN 0-8037-7473-7.  

Awards:  Newbery Medal , ALA Notable Book

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is Taylor ’s second book about the Logans, a black family living in Mississippi during the Depression. The Logans own the land they live on, which was unusual during the time. The Logan children experience and witness daily acts of racism by the local townspeople, including the school bus driver, who “entertains” his White riders by speeding through mud puddles, just to splash the Black children as they walk to and from school. In addition to having to endure ongoing racial indignities, the Logans must deal with Harlan Granger, who intends to take their land from them one way or another.  

Things heat up when the Logans organize a boycott against the Wallace family store, after the Wallaces were involved in a “burning” and never faced any consequences. The Logans try to empower other Black families by arranging for them to have credit at a different store in a nearby town. One night, after a white store-owner was killed, the “nightmen” surrounded the home of T.J. Avery, the Logan children’s friend. In order to divert the mob’s attention elsewhere, David Logan sets his cotton fields on fire.  The Logan property is located right next to Harlan Granger’s land and Granger orders the white men to help extinguish the fire in order to save his own land. Luckily for T.J., lawyer and long-time Logan family friend, Mr. Jamison, was able to secure T.J. and have him taken to jail.

Several themes run throughout this story:  racism and its effects, survival and perseverance, friendship, loyalty, and family.

The cultural markers are evident in the story. Deep South Black dialect is used throughout the story. The Logan children speak to their parents and grandmother with great respect, as had been traditionally taught in the South. Taylor describes the physical characteristics of the characters with such detail as, “Her clear, smooth skin was the color of a pecan shell.”

Taylor ’s descriptions of the atrocities are not overly graphic, but are descriptive enough to paint a vivid picture of what was going on. The story would hold the interest of adolescent readers since the protagonist is a nine year old girl, with brothers and friends who are a bit older than she is. The children, although set in the South in the 30’s, do things that all children have done at some point…..walk to school, disobey their parents, eavesdrop on adults, etc.

There are no illustrations in this book, other than the frontispiece, which was done by well-known author/illustrator Jerry Pinkney. The illustration depicts Mr. and Mrs. Logan, Big Ma, family friend and hired hand, Mr. Morrison, Cassie, and her brother Stacey. The characters are shown in clothing that would be commonly worn during the Depression.

This story would be very appropriate to use in the study of the racial injustices faced by Blacks in the South. It is an accurate depiction of what life must have been like for Black families during this time in American history.

Grimes, Nikki. Come Sunday. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing, 1996. ISBN 0-8028-5108-8.  

Awards: ALA Notable Book

This is a collection of fourteen short poems that illustrate a little girl’s “bed-to-bed” experience on a typical Sunday. The first poem, which is the title poem, begins with LaTasha’s mother waking her up on a Sunday morning. She has a hard time sitting still because her mother is braiding her hair for church. The next poem is one that most people will relate to; Blue-Haired Ladies tells about the church ladies who must always pinch LaTasha’s cheeks!

One poem that successfully depicts the Sunday church experience of Black Americans, particularly in the South, is Ladies’ Hats. LaTasha sits in awe of the beautiful hats the ladies wear to church on Sundays. She loves the ribbons and bows and the vibrant colors. The illustrations, by Michael Bryant, show the women sitting in the pews, wearing their hats. Grimes uses LaTasha’s voice to lead us through the rest of the events at Paradise Baptist Church on that given Sunday, including LaTasha’s own baptism, the church supper, and finally Lights Out.

One particularly enjoyable poem is My Offering, in which LaTasha tells how she feels uncomfortable with the fact that everyone at church knows when she is holding a little bit of her money back from the offering. She only does so when she needs an ice cream cone, and when she has one, she offers “God a lick.”

The Sunday activities described in Grimes’ poems give the reader a real sense of the Black-American Southern Baptist Church experience. The description of the “walking in music” and the “drums and tambourines” help create an image in the reader’s head. Michael Bryant’s illustrations help add to the sense of what   Paradise Baptist Church would be like on any given Sunday. The use of various shades of brown in the character’s skin tones helps with the authenticity of the experience.  Grimes adds to the visual experience with a description of LaTasha’s mother’s “chocolatey-brown skin.”

Lester, Julius. Sam and the tigers. New York: Dial Books, 1996. ISBN 0-8037-2028-9.

This is the new telling of Helen Bannerman’s Little Black Sambo without the negative imagery of the original Black characters. The story is the same:  Sam is shopping for new clothes with his parents, Sam and Sam. (In fact, everyone who lives in Sam-sam-sa-mara is named Sam.) The inhabitants of the Sam-sam-sa-mara are an interesting mixture of human beings and animals, but no one seems to notice the difference! Sam picks out the most brilliantly colored clothes and accessories he can find.  On his way to school one morning, Sam is threatened by a hungry tiger. He trades an article of clothing for his life and continues on his way, only to meet another hungry tiger. The cycle continues until Sam is standing in nothing but his underwear. Sam sees the tigers in a clearing and see that they are all quarreling with one another, each trying to establish his superiority over the others. The tigers remove their article of clothing and begin to wrestle and fight. Sam quickly gathers his clothes and taunts the tigers by asking, “Ain’t I fine?” The tigers become so angry that they run themselves into a pool of melted butter. Sam collects the butter and convinces his mother to make pancakes. They invite their neighbors over for dinner, all of whom are animals, including Brer Fox and Brer Wolf.  

Lester adds several modern day touches to the story. Sam reminds one of the tigers that his cholesterol will go way up if he eats him!  Another contemporary touch becomes evident when one of the tigers calls the others “losers.” This is a fun

 Jerry Pinkney’s watercolor illustrations are bright and colorful. Pinkney gave each tree a face, giving even more life to the already lively pictures.

Woodson, Jacqueline. I hadn’t meant to tell you this. New York:  Delacorte Press, 1996.  ISBN 0-385-32031-0. 

Awards:  Coretta Scott King Award

POWERFUL.  That is the best word to describe this novel by Jacqueline Woodson. Woodson begins the novel with a discussion about the town in which the story is set. She describes how Chauncey , Ohio becomes an all-black suburb, inhabited by middle-class Black families.

Marie is a twelve year old Black girl whose father is a college professor and whose mother walked out on. Lena , new to the school, is a poor white girl, whose mother had died. The two girls seem to be mysteriously drawn to each other, maybe because neither of them has a mother in the picture. Marie and Lena become very close friends despite the tensions presented by Marie’s Black friends, particularly Sherry. Sherry taunts both girls, calling them WT (for Whitetrash) and UT (for Uncle Tom). Lena is teased because she “talks like a black girl.”  Marie and Lena also must deal with tensions from their fathers, as neither is very tolerant of the other’s race.

Lena reveals to Marie that her father is sexually abusing her. The girls’ friendship is tested as Marie struggles with whether or not to tell someone about the problem. The girls’ alliance becomes strengthened as they deal with their mothers’ absences, racial tensions, and the abuse, in addition to common adolescent issues such as teen cliques, peer pressure, etc. Lena and Marie become very best friends, but as Lena suddenly becomes distant, Marie realizes something is wrong. Lena reveals that her father is now molesting her younger sister. Lena tells Marie that she and her sister must flee from the situation. Marie must deal with being abandoned once again.  

Woodson creates an interesting situation with the questions of racial identities. Marie teases Lena about talking like a black girl and having a black girl name, while Lena responds by putting the ball back in Marie’s court by saying maybe she is just “light-skinned.”