Day of Tears

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical
• Originally Published: 2005
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile NP0L; grades 5-9
• Structure/Length: 13 chapters; approx. 192 pages; approx. 2 hours and 52 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Emma, an enslaved person on the Butler plantation and the primary caretaker of the Butler children, is sold during the largest slave auction in American history.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic violence; references to sexual assault; suicide ideation; offensive, outdated language. Linked outside resources in this Teaching Unit may include use of the term “slaves.”

Julius Lester, Author

• Bio: 1939-2018; born in St. Louis, Missouri; received a B.A. in English from Fisk University; worked as a musician, radio talk-show host, photographer, and political activist; was active in the civil rights movement; taught for 32 years at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
• Other Works: Time’s Memory (2006); When Dad Killed Mom (2001); To Be a Slave (1969); John Henry (1994)
• Awards: Coretta Scott King Award (2006); Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (1995); Caldecott Honor (1995); Newbery Honor (1969)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Vulnerability of Black People and Enslaved People
• The Significance of Location in the United States Prior to the 13th Amendment
• Slavery as an Inhumane Practice Against Nature

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: