Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Background information about the novel by Mildred D. Taylor

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, is a novel about a Southern black family, the Logan’s, who live during the Great Depression in a region that is deeply segregated and heavily prejudiced. The novel is loosely based on Mildred D. Taylor’s own family history, and the stories that her father told her about his own childhood. This presentation will provide some historical and social background for the novel, to give you an idea of what the world was like when this story took place.

The Great Depression

During the period between the two world wars, the United States experienced The Great Depression. The stock-market crash of 1929 paralyzed the nation’s economy. Banks cut off their loans to businesses; businesses cut back on production; millions lost their jobs.

This photo shows a “bank run.” After the stock market crash, customers would rush their local banks, attempting to withdraw their savings, until eventually, the banks ran completely out of money.

Blacks were especially hurt by the Depression because their farm labor was no longer needed in the South and the new machinery in the northern factories replaced them. There were fewer jobs and loss of wages for many.

At the height of the Great Depression in 1933, about 13 million Americans had no jobs; many with jobs only worked part-time.

Many people were constantly hungry. This man’s car has stalled and he has no means to fix it.

Migrant workers during the Great Depression

The rate of unemployment for black workers was almost four times the rate of unemployment among white workers. It became increasingly difficult for blacks to get work because now the white worker was forced by necessity to do the minimal jobs that were previously done by black workers. The saying “Last hired and fired first” proved to be true for black workers.

Adding to the trauma of the Great Depression was a drought that lasted many years and made it impossible for crops to grow. Because the land was so dry, the dust would blow thick and heavy, giving this period the name, The Dust Bowl. The effects of this agricultural devastation were felt worldwide.

During the Dust Bowl, the dust would blow so thick and heavy that visibility was impaired.

Many families were forced to abandon their crops and migrate West in search of a better life.

Drought Refugees

President Roosevelt knew that something had to be done to help the people of America during the Great Depression, so he created The New Deal. The New Deal attempted to provide recovery and relief through programs of agricultural and business regulation, inflation, price stabilization, and public works. The New Deal also provided for social and economic legislation to benefit the mass of working people.

Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt at his Inaugural Parade

Social Context of the Novel

In 1619, slavery began in the U.S. when 20 blacks were purchased as indentured servants. Soon, slaves were being imported at the rate of about 1,000 per year. Slavery continued to grow despite opposition and conflict. The Civil War, , was sparked by controversy over the future of slavery. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing black slaves and the South lost the Civil War.

The Emancipation Proclamation, however, marked the beginning, rather than the ending of the black struggle for freedom. Due to custom and a body of laws known as the Jim Crow laws, blacks were robbed of their civil rights. These laws mandated "separate but equal" status for African Americans.

The efforts to obtain equal civil rights for the nation’s blacks began almost 100 years later.

During the time of the novel, blacks in America (the South in particular) were still considered “second class citizens.” The laws were “separate” but definitely NOT equal. There was absolute segregation between blacks and whites.

Exclusive Colored Theatre We Cater to White Trade Only

School for white children School for black children

The blacks in the South suffered harsh and and often brutal indignities at the hands of the “superior” whites. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began to flourish and many blacks were terrorized or killed if they attempted to gain economic freedom or tried to assert themselves in any way.

Colored Entrance Rex Theatre for Colored People

Most blacks were unable to own land, so they were forced to work out a new relationship with the former slave owners. Sharecropping developed as a replacement for slave labor. At first, sharecropping seemed like a good idea for the freed blacks. The arrangement allowed them some freedom to work independently, and they frequently got half the crop.

The system quickly proved to be disastrous for both poor blacks and whites. Sharecroppers needed more than just land to farm; they needed seed, fertilizers, and provisions to live on until the crop was harvested. To obtain these things, they borrowed against their share. Falling crop prices, high credit rates, and dishonest merchants and creditors left many sharecroppers deep in debt after the harvest.

Black Southern sharecroppers

Black Sharecropper’s Shack

White Landowner’s Home

Novel vs. History In the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, you will see that the Logans are lucky enough to own their own land. Other factors, though, such as the Depression and racial prejudice affect this family, and you will witness their struggles and their victories.