Nightjohn (1996)

Nightjohn is a 1996 television movie about a young slave girl who lives a hopeless life on a Southern plantation. Her job is to take care of the white family’s son as well as spitting tobacco on the roses to keep bugs away. Her life is changed when she is taught how to read by a fellow slave. The slave, John, says that learning to read is freedom because slavery is bounded by laws and deeds which the slaves cannot read. Her excitement towards reading gets her and her fellow slaves in trouble with their master, Mr. Waller, who prohibits any slave from being able to read. When trouble ensues, Sarny uses her ability to read against Mr. Waller and saves the lives of the rest of the slaves. She ends up being sold, but not before she shows her fellow slaves the letter ‘A’.

Synopsis

Sarny is born in the slaves' cabin. Their master, Clel Waller, walks in and becomes angry when he realizes that it is a girl, instead of a boy. He states that a boy is worth a thousand dollars while a girl is worth nothing. But a promise has been made, so the baby girl is not sold. Instead, later when Sarny becomes a child, her mother is sold so that Mr. Waller can recover his money. Sarny is then taken care of by another slave, Delie.

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