Editorials
Children's Literature -
This latest addition to "The Civil Rights Movement" series focuses on the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott which started after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and other members of African American churches and civic groups got involved in promoting the boycott. They had been waiting for just the right person to refuse to relinquish her seat. Other people before Ms. Parks had refused, but each was somehow less than squeaky clean. With the help of lawyers such as Fred Gray, the bus boycott succeeded beyond anybody's wildest dreams. Mr. Gray took the battle all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the segregation of races was unconstitutional. It was a long and terrifying struggle that lasted more than a year. Dr. King's and Reverend Abernathy's houses were bombed, and other people were harassed and threatened with bodily harm. But Reverend King and his group stood resolutely by their belief in non-violent civil disobedience, a decision which took great courage. This book—an important read for all of us—is well laid out and written. Many facts of this story may be new to readers. Reviewer: Sarah Maury SwanSchool Library Journal
Gr 7 Up
The wrenching consequences of Rosa Parks's decision that sparked the Civil Rights Movement are depicted in this well-written book. Descriptions of civil rights activism dating back to 1865, including multiple attempts to desegregate streetcars, trains, and buses, provide historical context and a sense of the fervor surrounding discrimination and segregation. The facts of the boycott are documented with supportive news articles, relevant quotations, moving individual stories, and significant court cases. Extra details distinguish this book from similar titles. For example, Aretha tells the little-known story of a courageous white librarian who wrote letters praising the boycott only to commit suicide after she was harassed and ostracized by her community. Photographs-mostly black-and-white but some color-depict significant figures and document incidents such as meetings and carpooling to avoid buses. The final chapters characterize the boycott in terms of its positive influence on other Americans and people around the world.-Margaret Auguste, Franklin Middle School, Somerset, NJ