Nightjohn is a 1996 American television drama film directed by Charles Burnett and written by Bill Cain, based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Gary Paulsen.

The film is about a young slave girl named Sarny, played by Allison Jones, 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.

When trouble ensues, Sarny uses her ability to read against Mr. Wallace and saves the lives of the rest of the slaves.

When Sarny grows to about pre-teenage years, she starts working at the Big House, taking care of Homer, the master's son who is not potty-trained yet.

Back at the cabins, Outlaw tries to get Delie to convince Mr. Waller to give him a pass so he can marry a girl named Egypt from another plantation.

That night when the Wallers are having a party, Delie walks in on John teaching Sarny the alphabet and is outraged.

The third time, however, he successfully got away to the North but ended up coming back in order to teach slaves how to read.

Sarny later comes up with a plan for Callie to visit the Doctor secretly, offering to potty-train Homer and swipes his alphabet blocks.

The next day, Clel recruits everyone in his family to help with picking cotton from the fields, promising a feast to everyone if they are successful with the crop.

It is revealed Sarny had stolen a bible that Jeffrey, the master's other son was supposed to take care of which gets him in trouble from his father.

Sarny then tricks Homer into playing hide and seek so she can go back and read Clel's record book.

The Waller plantation had a good crop of cotton this year and as promised, Clel throws a feast.

As he is leaving, John tells Sarny "when you lose one hand, the other gets stronger", meaning that she must forge the other note and teach other slaves how to read.

Clel interrupts the service saying that he has found two notes written and signed with his name in two different handwritings, meaning that another slave knows to write and threatens to shoot all of them.

Thinking everything has been solved, Sarny is finally sold, and as she narrates, she explains that the story is about her and Nightjohn and that there is a bit of John in all of the slaves.

[2] The bureau also sought to create schoolhouses in order to regain the stability lost by the end of slavery.