Stella by Starlight

Stella and JoJo sit at the table with their parents. Papa went to see the Klansmen for himself; now returned, he reprimands Stella and JoJo for leaving the house and asks repeatedly if the men saw them. The children reassure Papa that no one saw them. Mama brings up Billy Odom, and Papa verifies that Mr. Odom’s suspicious lumber mill accident was probably the KKK: “He was gettin’ ready to start his own blacksmith shop. Klan made it clear that weren’t gonna happen” (7).

Stella hesitantly mentions how one horse’s harness glittered in the firelight, and Mama makes the connection: “Doc Packard dresses his horses real fine” (8). Papa tells them that knowledge like that can be powerful and instructs Stella and JoJo to go quietly gather the neighborhood men to meet at the Millses’ house.

Stella sits on the front steps with classmate Tony Hawkins, son of Dr. Hawkins, the doctor for the black families in Bumblebee. The two discuss what Stella saw while the neighborhood men talk inside. Tony and Stella share secrets as well. Tony tells Stella, “Sometimes, at night, I go and run at the track of the white school” (13). She tells him that she often sits out at night to practice writing, a skill for which she needs more practice. Stella and Tony talk about the “old folk” inside but conclude that the men can take little action; the KKK intends to make the black community afraid and uneasy. Tony says his father suffered humiliation during medical school. He brings up Dr. Packard, who treats only white patients, and Stella tells the story of her run-in with Dr. Packard when she was five. Stella accidentally stepped on his shoe, and Dr. Packard reacted with insults and abuse. She does not reveal that she suspects Dr. Packard of taking part in the cross-burning.

After the meeting, Stella sleeps for a few hours before school. Newsprint covers the walls near her bed, so headlines and news stories are the last thing she sees before sleeping. She notices Papa’s newspaper at breakfast as well: “She thought about the masthead of that paper. Its motto was ‘The Truth Unbridled.’ Stella liked that. Truth. On horseback. Without a saddle or bridle to hold the animal back” (25). When she asks if Papa thinks the newspapers will cover the Klan meeting, however, he says no. He compares consequences for the KKK to “nailing jelly to a tree” (27)—futile.

Stella and JoJo leave for the walk to school. They meet up with Johnsteve Winston and joke with talk of royalty and dragons. Along the way, they also meet Randy Bates and Tony Hawkins, who play chase. Next, Stella’s best friend Carolyn Malone joins the group, and finally several of the 13 Spencer children. Mrs. Spencer tells them to hurry, as she always does, but today she also says, “And be watchful, children. Be watchful” (33). The group passes Mountain View School, where the town’s white children attend, and Stella cannot help but think about the offerings that school has in place, such as successful sports teams and a library.

The group of classmates go together into Miss Cathy’s Candy Store to buy sweets before school. A group of white children visit the store at the same time as Stella and her classmates. Tension rises even though Mrs. Cooper makes a point to welcome everyone equally. Stella notices Dr. Packard’s daughter Paulette buying plenty of candy. Stella asks one of the white girls how school is, and another white girl says it seems pointless to have two separate schools. This, however, prompts one of the white boys to comment: “School together? Ha! We don’t go to school with them because we don’t have to […] They’ll never amount to anything. My daddy says if they learn to cook and sew and clean, that’s all they’ll need” (39). These insults roll easily from the boy, but Stella can only bite her tongue.

Out the window Stella sees Dr. Packard giving Paulette money. Mrs. Cooper tells all the schoolchildren that they need to go to school; she allows everyone a small piece of chocolate in a silver foil wrapper on his or her way out. Stella notices that every student regardless of their school gets the same treat.