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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mkcapen1 | Student

In the book "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" the Logans have property that they own and farm.  Like the other black people in the area they are subject to the fear of the white men's attitude about the black people.  The white people especially do not want to see the black people making any progress or owning land.  If there is something they do not like they try to scare it out of the black people by getting them to sell their land or to move away.  Sometimes they just punish them because they are black and there is so much hatred and resentment towards them.

The night men are the men who ride at night in their cars and harm the black people.  The children are put to bed when their mother hears that they are riding. They refer to them as the devilish night men.  One of them is Mr. Wallace.

 

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