A Thousand Never Evers

On the morning of the garden picking, Addie Ann watches as the Black community gets ready to go at dawn. She is convinced that she needs to go to school because of Mama’s warning and because of the importance of school. However, as she sets off for school with Cool Breeze, he pulls her aside and says that he is skipping for the picking, and Addie Ann begrudgingly agrees to join him.

The Black community, led by the reverend, goes to the garden. When they get to the fence, Addie Ann hesitates, unsure if she is doing the right thing. However, as she hears her brother’s voice in her head telling her to “stand up” (161), she decides that she needs to enter the garden.

As the two sides of the community face off in the garden—with the sheriff holding a gun—they slowly come to the realization that the garden has been destroyed and overrun by butterbean vines, which someone must have planted. The Black community quickly leaves and returns to the church.

The Black community gathers in the church. They agree that someone must have planted weeds in the garden to ruin the crops. The group sings and prays together, and then the reverend asks everyone to leave so that he can discuss their plan of action with the Brigade.