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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by Mildred D. Taylor

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Who were the night men in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?

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The night men in Mildred Taylor's novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, were presumably white vigilantes bent on spreading terror to the local black families that lived in the area. Early in the novel, they set one man, Mr. Berry, afire. The night men paid a visit to the Logan house one evening but apparently decided they had the wrong house and left peaceably. Their constant threat to the well-being of the local African-Americans was one reason Papa Logan invited the powerful L. T. Morrison to live on the property. Although the night riders are not identified as Ku Klux Klan members, their night raids are reminiscent of past KKK activities.

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