Young people respond to literature and simulations around discrimination in 1933 Mississippi, through the Newberry winning novel by Mildred Taylor: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. They determine the importance of family, ownership, and community in socializing children and helping others through hard times. They analyze the effects of discrimination on community capital and self-worth.

Service Experience

Participants go to a local senior citizens’ home and interview seniors about how the community has changed since they were teenagers. They will discuss the importance of family and how it influences their beliefs yet today. Learners will create a display with new insights from the knowledge gained during the interviews on a designated space in both the senior home and where youth come together.

Lessons in This Unit

The Beginning of the Storm

Unit:

Power and Race in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Lesson 1 of 3

Grades:

Using award-winning literature, the learners describe and analyze racism in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The readers identify the injustices in the community as well as the values and self-respect that build community relationships and strength.

Subjects

Unit:

Power and Race in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Lesson 2 of 3

Grades:

We observe how power and privilege are used to keep African American families oppressed even after they were freed from slavery.

Subjects

Language Arts