Let The Circle Be Unbroken is the 1981 sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a 1976 children's novel by Mildred D. Taylor. The novel won the 1977 Newbery Medal. Its sequel, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, was released in 1981. It also has a prequel in 1975, Song of the Trees...

, written by Mildred D. Taylor

Mildred D. Taylor

Mildred DeLois Taylor is an African American author, known for her works exploring the struggle faced by African-American families in the Deep South....

. T.J.'s punishment is approaching, Stacey runs away to find work, and the Logan children's cousin, Suzella Rankin, tries to pass

Passing (racial identity)

Racial passing refers to a person classified as a member of one racial group attempting to be accepted as a member of a different racial group...

 herself off as a white person, but fails which leads to embarrassing consequences. It won the Coretta Scott King Author Award

Coretta Scott King Award

The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...

 in 1982.

Plot summary

The Logan family goes through hard times, trying to raise their children the correct way. T.J. Avery, Stacey's friend, is accused of murdering a white man, Jim Lee Barnett. Although he is innocent, he is tried by an all-white jury and convicted. Stacey does everything in his power to help his friend, but in the end, T.J. is sentenced to death.

A man tries to start a union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 to join blacks and whites together so the cotton will be sold for fair prices. The union does not succeed and the man who wanted to start it is beaten. Some people are told that they need to pull up the acres that were already planted because they planted too much. The plantation owners lied, claiming the government ordered it, but the plantation owners did it in order to receive money that was supposed to go to the sharecroppers.

Mama's cousin Bud's daughter Suzella, who has a black father and a white mother

Multiracial American

Multiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...

, lives with the Logans. Suzella is exonerated for being attractive and mixed, making her seem like a prize to all the males in the town because she is technically black and therefore accessible, but still has the lighter skin, hair and eyes; she can be assumed as white. Suzella struggles with identity issues that put a strain on her relationships with others. She catches the eye of Stuart Walker, a white boy who flirts with pretty colored girls to start trouble. When Stuart approaches her he genuinely respects her, assuming she is white. This takes a great toll on Stacey; he believes he must take care of his family before they lose their land. He and his best friend Moe run away to a sugarcane

Sugarcane

Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

 field to work. With the help of Mr. Jamison, a white lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 who is kind and fair to black people, Mama, Papa and Caroline Logan (Big Ma) contact police stations in the next couple of towns. They address the letters in his name so that when the sheriffs receive the letters they will respond. Mr. Jamison says that if they see a black family name on the letters they probably will not respond. Seven months later, they find Stacey several hours away, jailed in a small town in Louisiana. Stacey and Moe were accused of stealing which put them in jail, where they became ill. While Stacey was at the cane field a poll

Poll

Poll, polled or polling may refer to:- Figurative head counts :* Polling, voting* Show of hands, voting* Opinion poll* The polls, polling places* Poll, an election* Polling , sequential interrogation of devices- Other :...

 rolled over his foot and broke it. Before they drive home, they stop by the house of a lady who took care of Stacey and Moe while they were in jail and thank her. They stay the night there and the next morning return home.

The Logan Family

• Stacey Logan: A 14 year-old boy who is the oldest of the Logan children. He is strong-minded and loves his family. He shows us that he is both strong minded and loving because he leaves home but it is because he is trying to get a job at the cane fields in Louisiana to earn extra cash for the family. He is the son of Mary and David Logan (Mama and Papa). Stacey also feels that it is his responsibility to take care of the family. Stacey has grown up and more emotional and territorial towards his family and that is why he goes for the job.
• Cassie Logan: An ignorant strong willed girl willing to fight for anything she believes in. The story takes place from her point of view. She is mainly a tomboy who learns valuable life lessons from her father, grandmother and Stacey.Cassie is ten and in fifth grade.
• Christopher-John Logan: Stacey and Cassie's second younger brother. Christopher-John is notorious for being a rule follower and doesn't like going against the family's decisions and getting himself in trouble.
• Little Man Logan (Clayton Chester): Stacey and Cassie's younger brother. He is very neat and tidy and does not like to be discriminated against even though he does not understand what that is at his young age.
• David Logan: The father of the Logan children, known as Papa. He worked on the railroad and tries to teach his children life lessons in hopes of keeping them get out of trouble.
• Mary Logan: The mother in the Logan family. She used to be a school teacher, but now she organizes groups to change the society. Mary is Cousin Bud's aunt, but Cousin Bud is more like her brother since Bud is 3 years older than she is, and they grew up together.
• Big Ma/Caroline Logan: She is the mother of David and Hammer Logan and the grandmother of the Logan children. She is portrayed as a strong and good-nature woman. Caroline Logan has influenced Cassie Logan growing up by passing on the family stories and history to her. She helps many people those who are sick and those who have been treated badly by the white people. She is very religious and has passed her views to Cassie Logan.
• Uncle Hammer: David Logan's older brother and Cassie's uncle. He moved to Chicago before the Logan saga because of the racism in Mississippi. He is portrayed as having a hair-trigger temper, something a black man "isn't allowed to have" in the Depression-era South. He provided financial assistance to the rest of the family several times.
• Paul Edward Logan: The grandpa of the Logan children. He is also David and Hammer's father.

Other Characters

• Suzella Rankin: Cousin of the Logan family children. She's an attractive light skinned girl who initially accepts the advances of white young men, but is later found to be black, with embarrassing consequences.
• T.J. Avery: T.J. is a friend of the Logan children and gets put on trial for a murder committed by the Simms brothers but is still convicted for the murder even though Mr. Jamison gave solid evidence that R.W. and Melvin Simms committed the murder. He is responsible for making Mama lose her job in the prequel of this book (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a 1976 children's novel by Mildred D. Taylor. The novel won the 1977 Newbery Medal. Its sequel, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, was released in 1981. It also has a prequel in 1975, Song of the Trees...
  
  ). Also, in the prequel of this book T.J. is beaten up by R.W. and Melvin Simms after the murder and as a result, his ribs are broken.
• Jeremy Simms: A white teenager who is friends with the Logan children. He like the Logan children and he doesn't abuse black people like the rest of his family.
• Mr. Wade Jamison: A white lawyer that supports the Logans and other black families in their town. He tried to defend T.J. at his trial.
• Cousin Bud: The father of Suzella and married to a white woman. He is also Mary's (mama's) nephew.
• Lottie: She is the sister of Mary Logan.
• Lee Annie: An elderly black woman that had an urge to learn about the history of the U.S. and go and register to vote. Ms. Lee Annie is like family to the Logans.
• Mr. Morrison: A member of the Logan family after he was fired from his job. His family died when he was young.
• Dubé Cross: The oldest child in his family, also the man of the family because his father is gone
• Moe Turner: A sharecropper and has his cotton plowed. He also ran away with Stacy to go work at the sugar cane fields.
• Harlan Granger: A white land owner that likes to take all the land and money away from the black people, most of them are sharecroppers. He owns a lot of the land in the area. Owns Granger Plantation.
• Melvin Simms: Jeremy and R.W.’s brother and also was in the plan of using T.J.
• The Barnetts: A couple that owns a store that people shop at. Jim Lee, the husband, is killed in a robbery by the Simms brothers. Mrs. Barnett accuses T.J. of the murder.
• Mr. Farnsworth: A government agent that tells the Turners that he must plow up his cotton.
• Jake Willis: A young black boy that is always well informed and brings his neighbors all the current news.
• Sheriff Dobbs: The sheriff of a town in Louisiana. He helps the Logans locate Stacey when he runs away.
• The Shorters: Sharecroppers that also must plow cotton.
• The Laniers: Sharecroppers that also must plow cotton.
• The Averys: T.J.'s family including his father, Joe, younger brother Claude and two sisters. Friends with the Logan's.
• Russell: Lee Annie's grandson. A handsome dark skinned man who is in the army and very fond of Hammer Logan. Later in the story he takes a liking to Suzella.