In this first unit of the school year, students will read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor and a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts about how individuals and communities persevere through prejudice and injustice alongside this anchor text. This first unit will aim to help students envision how they can be courageous contributors within their communities in the face of injustice. This unit will challenge students to explore how communities can work together to disrupt prejudice and courageously take a stance for equality. Through a thorough study of the texts in this unit, students should come to understand that there is power in standing up for equality and change within their respective communities. Students will read the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, as a coming-of-age story, an evaluation of courage and navigating systemic injustice, and as a critique of race relations in the American South during the Great Depression.