Final answer:
The allusion to Jefferson Davis in the novel signifies ongoing reverence for the Confederacy and its values in Cassie's county, as the naming of a school reflects racial segregation and white supremacy ideologies from the Civil War era that persisted into the 1930s.
Step-by-step explanation:
The allusion to Jefferson Davis in the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry holds significant meaning regarding the county where Cassie and her family live. The novel is set in Mississippi during the 1930s, a period following the Reconstruction era after the Civil War, in which the South was still very much influenced by its Confederate past. Naming the school for whites after Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States of America, implies an ongoing reverence for the Confederacy and its values, signifying that the legacy of the Confederacy and its ideologies of white supremacy and racial segregation continue to permeate the society in which Cassie lives.
Considering that Jefferson Davis was a symbol of Southern nationalism and the struggle to maintain a way of life predicated on the institution of slavery, it is not surprising that such an allusion suggests the continued struggle for civil rights and equality faced by African Americans in the South, even many years after the Civil War had ended. The choice of Jefferson Davis as a namesake for the school represents an endorsement of those Confederate ideals and serves as an overt reminder to the black community of their place within the societal hierarchy as perceived by the white population.