Fire from the Rock

Donna Jean, or DJ, is Sylvia’s eight-year-old sister, hang-out pal, confidant, and number-one fan. The story opens with the family trying to deal with DJ’s injuries from a dog attack. While her mother nurses her wounds and tells her she will be fine, her sister and brother are ready to call the police. For Sylvia, the incident with DJ represents racial violence in her own family because that dog was trained to attack Black people. While DJ is the youngest member of the Patterson family, she brings both insight and innocence to complex adult situations.

DJ also gives Sylvia an excuse to break everything down and teach about issues of sexism and racism. In one example, DJ is upset that her father works long days and isn’t home when she comes back from school. Sylvia explains that is because he has to work a second job at a brick yard but receives low wages because he is not in the union. Due to racism, Black men can’t be in the union. Sylvia also explains that women are paid less than men, and Black teachers are paid less than white teachers. DJ thinks this is very unfair and doesn’t understand why this is the case.

In the days and months following her dog bite, DJ witnesses the constant conversation about school integration going on in her house. As far as she is concerned, school integration is just another example of adults trying to fix something that isn’t broken: “I like my school. I just want to know how long I have before grown-ups mess everything up” (81). After recognizing that her father could never be President of the United States because of racism, and her sister could never be crowned Miss America because of racism, DJ is convinced that sometimes adults don’t know what they’re doing. In keeping with her innocence and insight, DJ shocks Sylvia by telling her she is very pretty. In DJ’s world, it should absolutely be possible that her sister could become Miss America. When Sylvia doubts whether she has what it takes to integrate Central High, DJ reminds her that it won’t change how there are so few Black characters on TV or the rest of the unfairness in the world. She tells Sylvia just to live her life the way she wants. In the midst of very confusing days and weeks, DJ cuts through it all with clarity, innocence, and insight.

Mrs. Patterson is Sylvia’s mother and prides herself on keeping a clean house and speaking in proverbs: “The Bible says blessings come to those who wait” (11). Mrs. Patterson also represents those members of the Black community who believe that combatting racism should be left in God’s hands and everyone else just needs to be patient. When DJ is attacked by one of the Crandalls’ dogs, Mrs. Patterson says it was an accident. While her older children think she has too much patience and tolerance for the racism of the Crandalls and others like them, Mrs. Patterson is really just trying to protect her kids from danger the best way she knows how.

Though it is only mentioned in passing in the story, Mrs. Patterson is a full-time teacher in a segregated school. She spends most of the story being home for her children, cooking, and doing housework, but by day she is teaching elementary school. Sylvia and DJ credit her with their love of libraries and books. Education is very important to Mrs. Patterson, just as it is to all of the Black community in Little Rock.

When her son, Gary, is beaten by white boys, Mrs. Patterson encourages him not to talk back and to ignore the harassment: “‘Couldn’t you just have ignored them, son?’ his mother asked tearfully as she bandaged the cuts on his head. ‘Doesn’t the Good Book tell us to turn the other cheek?’” (45). Despite her approach to dealing with racist taunts, Mrs. Patterson fully supports Sylvia’s decision to put her name on the list to integrate schools. She also supports her daughter when she later chooses to remove her name from the list. Throughout Sylvia’s journey in 1957, Mrs. Patterson makes sure she has clean clothes for school, warm meals at home, and even a record player to help her cope with all the stress. Near the end of the story, Sylvia is shocked to find out that her mother was also a rebel when she was a young person. She went to dancehalls without permission and met Sylvia’s father at one of them. By the end of the story, Mrs. Patterson has become a more complete person to Sylvia.

Gary is Sylvia’s older brother. In the beginning of the story, Gary is a short-tempered young man who is fed up with racism and angry that nothing ever seems to change. He loves his younger sisters fiercely, and he feels compelled to act when they get hurt. He loves his parents, but he also clashes with them over the best methods for combatting racism. His character grows as the story progresses, and Gary sees that retaliatory violence might not be the best way to combat racism after all.

When DJ gets attacked by the Crandalls’ dog, Gary wants to immediately go and kill the dog. When the dog turns up dead a few days later, Sylvia thinks Gary might have done it, though he never says for sure. Gary is further enraged after being harassed and beaten by Johnny Crandall and some other white boys. He vows vengeance and starts leaving the house in the evenings to hang out with other teenagers and talk about subversive methods for combatting racism. What actually goes on in those meetings is mostly a mystery, but Gary’s anger is on full display. When Sylvia announces her friend Rachel is coming over to the house, Gary’s response demonstrates his feelings: “Don’t bring white folks into our kitchen” (17).

Gary believes that school integration must happen because keeping schools separate is how white people keep out the Black students. He openly discusses his interest in getting his name on the list of students to be first to integrate Central High in the fall. When his sister learns she is on the list, Gary thinks he can get his name on there, too. Sylvia knows they won’t allow him to go to Central: “Uh, I don’t think they included your name, Gary. They’re afraid you might be too outspoken or violent” (54). At first Gary is very upset that Sylvia is on the list and he isn’t, but soon he expresses his support for his sister and tells her she is perfect for the job. He even stands up for her when her parents think she is being disrespectful, explaining that Sylvia is under a lot of pressure from people about whether her name should be on that list.

After Sylvia and DJ are harassed at the library, Gary’s late-night meetings become more frequent and now include Sylvia’s boyfriend, Reggie. DJ overhears a phone call in which Gary mentions “explosives,” but both girls dismiss the idea and agree not to mention it to their parents. Gary’s sisters both worry about his anger and what will become of it. Fortunately, after the explosions at the grocery store, Gary’s anger tempers, and he seems to focus more on being successful at his schoolwork. He joins Sylvia in watching the news to see what happens with the Nine when they try to go to Central. He even sneaks off with Sylvia to ride with the Black press corps as they try to cover the event. As the novel progresses, Gary goes from being a raw, angry, and impulsive young man to being one who values the safety of his family and school and sees the importance of being level-headed and strategic in the face of racism, just like his sister.

Mr. Patterson is Sylvia’s father and the local pastor. He also works a second job at the brickyard but isn’t allowed to lay bricks because Black men can’t join the union. Mr. Patterson has a history of combatting racism by trying to be the best Christian he can be. He keeps his head down, goes to work, reads the newspaper, and worries about his son’s anger and his daughter’s safety. He watched his own father get lynched by white men when he was just a kid, and he sees his father in Gary. Mr. Patterson initially disagrees with the notion of school integration because he sees his own segregated school experience at being more than sufficient for his own children. He is forced to confront his beliefs when Miss Washington tells him the school wants his own daughter to represent them at Central High in the fall.

Despite his fears about integration and his daughter’s safety, Mr. Patterson surprises everyone one Sunday with a sermon that includes a confession about his new stance on school integration: “They want to take your children and my children and let these young people do what we can’t—change the world” (65). In front of the whole congregation, he even goes so far as to reframe the role of faith in the struggle against racism: “Friends, I’ve been afraid all my life. Maybe it’s time for me to step out on faith” (66). Through this character, the author represents some of the fears and barriers that existed within the Black community in 1957 and how some people, especially of older generations, shifted their thinking in the name of racial justice.

Miss Washington is one of Sylvia’s teachers and the person who explains to Sylvia that her name should go on the list to integrate Central High. Sylvia describes her teacher as strict but caring, and she appreciates how Miss Washington tries to prepare her students for life as well as the next grade level of school. Miss Washington is known for being direct with students and teaching them how they will have to work twice as hard and be twice as good to make it in a racist society. She believes in Sylvia and serves as a mentor figure in the story.

Rachel is Sylvia’s lifelong friend and daughter of the local grocery store owner, Mr. Zucker. Rachel is white and Jewish, and her friendship with Sylvia demonstrates the solidarity that often existed between the African American and Jewish communities in 1957. Rachel’s father survived the Holocaust and has a number tattoo as a daily reminder of his suffering in a concentration camp. Her mother is a housewife who also helps out in the store. Rachel’s family is always respectful of the Black community, and they have many Black patrons because of that. Though Rachel does not understand what it is like to be Black, she is very clear that she will be a friend to Sylvia no matter what, including if Sylvia comes to Central in the fall: “I don’t know if I could do what you might have to do. But know this—you will always have a friend at Central High School” (79).

Like typical teenagers in 1957, Rachel and Sylvia compare notes on favorite musicians, latest crushes, and favorite magazines. They both also relate to the lack of professional female characters on TV. They find common ground in their experiences with limited representation due to sexism. They also share commonalities in that their parents would not be happy if they dated someone of another race or religion. Like DJ, Rachel shows naïveté in her belief that racism and school integration are only problems because of adults. She believes that the kids will be fine if left to their own devices. When Sylvia has her name on the list and thinks that she will really be attending Central High in the fall, she looks to Rachel to give her insight into the students there and thinks that Rachel will be her saving grace in an unfriendly place. Ironically, it Sylvia who ends up saving Rachel when both girls get caught in the firebombing of the family grocery store.

The Crandalls are white, racist, and anti-integrationist. They represent what white racism commonly looked like in 1957 Little Rock, Arkansas, and in many other towns. Mr. Crandall does not like Black or Jewish people, and he trains his dogs to attack the local Black residents. He is known for wearing fancy shoes with taps on the toes. Mrs. Crandall is a local organizer with the segregationist Mothers Coalition and a member of the school board that verbally attacks and dehumanizes Sylvia during her interview. Their son, Johnny Crandall, regularly harasses the Patterson children: He beats up Gary, assaults Sylvia and DJ, and then harasses Sylvia again when she is on her way to the grocery store. Johnny and the Smith brothers are known for cruising the Black neighborhoods looking for people to harass. He is the one who makes sure that Sylvia knows she is being targeted because her name is on that list: “We don’t want your kind at our school. You hear?” (136). The racist characters of the Crandall family remain static and unchanged throughout the story.