Stella by Starlight

On a Saturday during chores, Mama agrees to let Stella take a break from gathering vegetables when Carolyn arrives with a copy of the Sears and Roebuck catalog. In fact, Mama pauses in her own chores to look at the pages too, and they admire clothing and furniture. Stella observes that there are no pictures of African Americans in the catalog, and Carolyn answers, “It’s pretty much a book for white people, so that’s who’s in it” (167).

After Carolyn helps Stella bring in the vegetables, Mama sends Stella to take some cooked fish to Mrs. Bates. The girls agree to meet up at Carolyn’s barn. As Stella leaves Mrs. Bates’s house, though, she sees a strange glow in the sky.

Stella realizes right away that the Spencers’ house is on fire. As she runs toward their property, three KKK men, robed, hooded, and on horseback, thunder toward her. Stella dives to the side of the road to avoid them. One shouts to her that Papa and the others who voted should have expected this “trouble.” She recognizes the green eyes of this man—Dr. Packard. The riders rear their horses, then ride off. Stella, paralyzed with fear, stays put until Tony Hawkins and Randy Bates arrive to help her.