80 pages • 2 hours read
Kwame AlexanderBlack Star
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7, Introduction Summary: “The Story of the Battle”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and racism, including racist violence.
Nana and his cousin Kofi were forced to join the Navy and clean the ships to help the Civil War’s cause. They worked hard to earn their keep of room and board.
Later in the war, the captain had a plan to surround the enemy fleet, but he couldn’t get a message to the other ships. Kofi volunteered to swim to the other boat at midnight, putting his life at risk.
The next day, the other ships appeared to box in the enemy fleet. Kofi had been successful. Nana didn’t hear from his cousin for years after they won the war, though.
Chapter 7, Poem 1 Summary: “Alarm”
Momma scolds Charley for being so dirty from her game. After her bath, she doesn’t hear any noises from Nana’s room.
Chapter 7, Poem 2 Summary: “Attacked”
Charley almost has an asthma attack because she’s so distraught over Nana’s whereabouts and health.
Chapter 7, Poem 3 Summary: “Where Is He?”
Charley is frozen with dread. Nana isn’t in his room, and she fears that he’s dead.
Daddy and Nana come around the corner, telling her to breathe.
Chapter 7, Poem 4 Summary: “After Momma Makes Me”
After having tea, Charley sits on the floor, asking Nana questions. He doesn’t smoke his pipe anymore since he wants to keep his lungs healthy.
Chapter 7, Poem 5 Summary: “Conversation With Nana”
Charley asks about Nana’s family, especially his cousin Kofi. He heard from him again many years later. He directs Charley to his suitcase, where she finds a letter from Kofi.
Chapter 7, Poem 6 Summary: “Dear Kofi Offin”
Charley reads the letter from Kofi aloud. Kofi’s soon-to-be wife, Minnie, wrote eloquently for him. The Navy officers couldn’t believe that he swam miles to reach them. Afterward, he survived the war and headed north with Minnie. He told Kofi to come find him in Nova Scotia.
Chapter 7, Poem 7 Summary: “Conversation Continued”
Charley asks why he never went to find his cousin. Nana met her grandmother and made his life here, he explains. He asks about her game against Cecil.
Chapter 7, Poem 8 Summary: “The Big Game”
Charley recounts the baseball game in great detail. Nana says that Cecil had to leave because he couldn’t handle losing. Charley then mentions the boys with the dog from town.
Chapter 7, Poem 9 Summary: “How to Throw a Curve”
In the game, Charley threw her last left-handed curve ball, and Paul swung so hard that he fell to the ground in pain. He cried and screamed. Charley and Willie wanted to help, but the white boys denied them. Charley and Willie grabbed their gear and ran home.
Chapter 7, Poem 10 Summary: “Troubled”
Nana turns serious, asking exactly what the white boys said next.
Chapter 7, Poem 11 Summary: “He Said”
Charley explains that Paul claimed that she broke his ankle and that she was a witch. Then, the boys called them racial slurs. Paul also said that he was going to tell his father about this.
Chapter 7, Poem 12 Summary: “Summer Rain”
Charley has trouble falling asleep. Her parents hardly tuck her in. They have an extended family meeting to discuss the baseball game with the white boys.
Chapter 7, Poem 13 Summary: “In This Dream”
Charley dreams of being a batter, pitcher, and white person on the field. When she throws, her ball is a shooting star on fire. It burns up everything in its path. She gets lost on the field again, but Willie guides her home.
Chapter 7, Poem 14 Summary: “The Next Day”
Willie comes over; he’s still happy about their big win. Charley is, too, but she’s anxious about the adults acting strangely lately. Willie pulls a gift for her out of his pocket.
Chapter 7, Poem 15 Summary: “He Hands Me”
Charley opens the gift bag to find a necklace. Willie used a wildflower chain to hang a seashell with a black star on it.
Chapter 7, Poem 16 Summary: “Conversation With Willie Green”
Willie explains that he found the seashell, painted the star, and then crafted the chain. Charley says she loves it.
Willie’s father is going to take them to a Black Sox game soon. He believes that this whole weekend has been a dream. Charley is joyful, too. She asks him to help put the necklace on for her.
Chapter 7, Poem 17 Summary: “Sweets”
Willie puts the necklace on, and Charley says that she forgives him. He accidentally calls her “sweets,” but she tells him that she’s not his girlfriend, although she says that making her the gift was very nice.
Chapter 7, Poem 18 Summary: “Falling Apart”
Inside, Momma is making a chicken dinner. The others are talking seriously. Momma tells Charley to occupy herself with cleaning or reading. A commotion starts outside.
Chapter 7, Poem 19 Summary: “Outside My Window”
Charley’s uncles and UNIA members come inside. Uncle Albert’s car is running. Nana starts swearing.
Chapter 7, Poem 20 Summary: “Peril”
Charley eavesdrops on the conversation about bad things coming. Momma instructs her to pack her suitcase as quickly as possible. Charley hurries to pack. A UNIA man says that they are coming for the boy first.
Chapter 7, Poem 21 Summary: “I Grab My Suitcase”
Charley grabs all her necessities and waits.
Chapter 7, Poem 22 Summary: “On the Front Porch”
Her family gathers on the porch and prays for safety.
Chapter 7, Poem 23 Summary: “In the Darkness”
They all rush to Albert’s car. Daddy is crying, which confuses Charley. Momma throws her suitcase and bags of her cooking in the car. She kisses Daddy and then shuts the door. Charley asks where they’re heading, and Nana replies that they are keeping her safe.
Chapter 7, Poem 24 Summary: “When Daddy Opens”
Daddy opens the car door and hugs Charley, but he doesn’t get inside.
Chapter 7, Poem 25 Summary: “Abandoned”
Daddy tells Charley to be good, promising that they’ll see a baseball game soon. He asks her to take care of Momma and Nana. When she realizes that Daddy isn’t joining them, Charley sobs.
Chapter 7, Poem 26 Summary: “The Way a Door Closes”
Charley’s life is torn in two. She cries while Daddy says that he loves her. Daddy walks back to the house to defend it with Uncle Rinney and other UNIA men.
Chapter 7, Poem 27 Summary: “Right Before Uncle Albert”
Before Albert can drive off, Charley remembers a necessary item from her room.
Chapter 7, Poem 28 Summary: “Keepsake”
Albert wants her to forget it, but Nana yells out the door to get the item.
Chapter 7, Poem 29 Summary: “Daddy Darts Out”
Daddy dashes outside with her desired glove, her most precious belonging. Charley is thankful to have her signed glove. Daddy tosses the glove inside the car and then screams for Albert to go.
Chapter 7, Poem 30 Summary: “The Fire”
A fire burns Willie Green’s house to the ground. Charley can’t breathe due to terror. Albert stops his car by Willie’s house, and Willie and Johnnie jump inside.
Chapter 7, Poem 31 Summary: “Terror”
Between long breaths, Willie explains that the white men of the Ku Klux Klan came dressed in their white robes and burned his house. He and his brother hid for a while and then escaped out the back. Willie sobs about his father.
Chapter 7, Poem 32 Summary: “Normal”
Charley asks for clarification about the cloaked men and his father, but Willie is too devastated to answer. Nana suggests a story.
Chapter 7, Poem 33 Summary: “Many Seasons Ago”
Charley can’t focus on Nana’s stories. He tells her that he’s survived the war; he was scared, too, but they will all be fine. Johnnie explains that the white folks believe that Willie and Charley injured their son on purpose. The men came with torches, and their father faced them out front while they escaped from the back entrance. The text implies that their father sacrificed his life for his sons.
Chapter 7, Poem 34 Summary: “Guilt”
Charley is overwrought with guilt. She thinks that all the turmoil and tragedy is her fault. If not for their baseball game at Hickory Park, none of these negative events would have happened.
Chapter 7, Poem 35 Summary: “Freedom”
Nana points out the bright half-moon in the sky. His grandfather taught him that the moon means you are supposed to let go and heal. Nana promises that one day, Charley will tell her grandchildren stories of how she survived this hard time. She just has to remain strong. Charley cherishes his advice.
When she questions him, Nana explains that Daddy is protecting their land and livelihood. God willing, he will join them up North later, where it’s safe. Her family sings a song of freedom, lulling Charley to sleep.
Chapter 7, Poem 36 Summary: “There Was Even a Time”
From a later perspective, this poem shows Charley’s dreams. She will continue to play ball, but she will also make a positive difference for equal rights. Charley’s words will become songs and then stories, like Nana’s before her. She will learn to fly and find her way in the world.
Chapter 7 Analysis
The letter to Nana from his cousin resolves the ambiguous ending of the first novel, providing answers about the series’ context and family history. Through Nana’s stories, Alexander establishes what happened after he and his cousin swam to safety. Nana’s life spans peace on an island, enslavement, military service, marriage, and raising a family. Similarly, his cousin shares his experiences since the first novel’s conclusion:
This is what I want to say, cousin.
I survived the war.
And now, soon as I save
up enough money, my new wife,
[…] the two of us will go up north (311).
This letter ties together loose threads, offering insights into the men’s shared past. In doing so, the author enriches the series’ continuity and deepens its multi-generational story arc, emphasizing the continued role of Generational History and Self-Discovery Through Family Legacy.
The final poems amplify the novel’s tension, highlighting the theme of Courage Against Racial Injustice with life-and-death stakes. The foreshadowing of violence builds as Nana questions Charley about their conflict with the white boys, escalating to implications of retaliation: “They say they are coming for the boy first” (341). The reference to “they” hints at the white boys’ families acting out of racial prejudice, invoking an ominous narrative mood. Rising action culminates in harrowing events, including the Ku Klux Klan burning down Willie’s home:
They came
in their white (BREATH)
robes (BREATH)
with fire
in (BREATH)
their hands (358).
Through language like “white robes,” the text directly alludes to the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group whose actions embody the era’s racial terror, including burning Black people’s houses and lynching Black people. These climactic moments reveal the realities of racial violence and the bravery of characters who flee or resist, which underscores the life-or-death stakes of standing up to racist injustice.
In the novel’s resolution, the moon becomes a symbol of hope and healing. As Charley struggles with guilt over Willie’s loss, Nana shares wisdom inspired by the moon:
[W]hen half of the moon
is bright,
and the other half
is a shadow,
we are supposed to let go.
Let go of what?
Whatever it is that you need healing from (367).
As mentioned many times throughout the book, the moon’s symbolic meaning crystallizes in the ending. Since “half” of the moon is “bright,” the moon represents the perspective of looking forward with optimism. This inspires Charley to focus on survival and growth rather than dwelling on pain and tragedy. This perspective fosters hope and resilience, guiding Charley and others toward healing and renewal. Despite their fresh wounds, the moon’s symbolism illuminates a path for the characters to process their grief and continue pursuing their Dreams and Determination as they head to the North.
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By Kwame Alexander
