| Booktalk
#1
Mississippi
in the depression was tough on Blacks. One family who owned their own 400
acres tells us their story in the book. We are with Cassie, the young girl
who learns for the first time that she doesn't get the same respect as
the white neighbors. We watch Stacey, the oldest son, begin to get wise
to his friend TJ's tricks and deceits. This story of a family struggling
against the odds of beating a system that clearly gives advantage to the
whites, is a good way to get a feeling of how injustices are corrected
and how much personal conviction is needed to keep up the fight.
Booktalk
#2
This
is the story of the Logan family. They are fighting to stay together
and to stay strong in the face of racist attacks, illness, and poverty
in the 1930's South. As a poor black family, they see the ugly side
of Southern living. The tale is told through the eyes of fourth grader
Cassie Logan. Cassie is young enough not to understand much of the
social injustice. She is constantly questioning the chasm between
blacks and whites. Through her eyes, we come to understand the day
to day existence of the family. Fortunately for Cassie and her brothers,
they have a strong, loving family that can pull together in troubled times.
Spend time with Cassie as she learns how to survive in a place that isn't
always fair.
Booktalk
#3
Cassie
lives in a little community near the town of Strawberry. Her family makes
a living from their cotton crops and working their land. She has three
brothers, a mother, a father, and a grandmother. Her father works on railroads.
Stacy, little man and Christopher John all go to a black school and have
to walk for a couple of miles to even get to school. There were significant
racial issues present. The white students bus rides by them every day and
splashes mud on them from its tires and the white children make faces and
call them names. Their mother is a school teacher and ends up getting fired
because she teaches her class things from her own life experience. Will
this hard-working family be able to get past these hard times of little
money, no respect and house burnings? Only in this book will you find out.
(Angelica Donald, student, Mansfield High School)
Booktalk
#4
The year is 1933, and Cassie
is a young African-American girl attending Great Faith Elementary and Secondary
School in Mississippi. Times are hard for all during the country’s depression,
but blacks are especially hit hard in this rural area. Prejudice, fear
and talks of night hangings surround Cassie and her brothers, Stacey, Christopher
John and Little Man.
Cassie’s family is unusual
for this area, for they are landowners. Mr. Granger, the white bigot, is
jealous of this land, for his family once owned it, and it never stops
trying to intimidate and scheme Cassie’s father and Uncle Hammer out of
the land. Cassie’s family has pride and the other African-Americans have
grown tired of the unfair treatment by Granger and his associates. Quietly,
a boycott is organized against the local storeowners who overcharge the
black community. The boycott is challenged when African-American workers
are threatened with losing their jobs. Still, the boycott continues with
supporters both black and white.
The book made me angry at the
prejudice expressed, upset me when foolish choices were made and helped
me see how hard it must have been for an African-American in rural 1933
Mississippi. (Melissa Bowman, Melissa.Bowman@pisd.edu, Armstrong
Middle School) |
