The CIVIL Rights Movement

Children's Literature

America proclaims itself to be a democracy based upon the individual rights of its citizens. Yet, for centuries, millions of African-Americans lived, worked, and died in bondage. After their liberation the Civil War, a series of grotesque laws were enacted to strip African-Americans of their voting and human rights. Then, after a century of further oppression, African-Americans gradually developed a movement that was aimed at capturing the basic human rights entitled to each and every citizen of the American Republic. This civil rights movement is delineated in Sirimarco's touching and informative chapter in the "American Voices From" series. In The Civil Rights Movement Sirimarco catalogs the major events and personalities of that movement. Sirimarco pulls no punches in both her narrative and in the primary source documents that serve as the cement for this well built work. Readers will be confronted by the violence imposed upon both African-Americans in general and those people, both white and black, who participated in the civil rights movement. To read about police brutality, the beating of freedom riders, or the way African-Americans were lynched is difficult. However, through knowledge comes understanding and the capacity for change. In this fine book, readers will encounter both a moving subject and a skillful rendition of it. 2005, Benchmark Books, Ages 12 up.
—Greg M. Romaneck

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-These books start out with good introductions to primary sources and offer suggestions about how to interpret them. Next, the authors provide overviews of their topics. Detailed tables of contents allow readers to locate specific documents. The primary sources include newspaper articles, excerpts of famous speeches, government documents, letters, and song lyrics. Each entry is prefaced with historical background and followed by "Think about This" questions. While the questions tend to give the titles a textbook feel, they will make readers pause for a moment and contemplate what they have just read. Colorful reproductions (paintings, posters, political cartoons, etc.) and period photos are sprinkled throughout, adding greatly to the texts. For example, a diary excerpt from a 14-year-old hobo in Great Depression is accompanied by a black-and-white photo of two vagrants walking along train tracks. Each volume ends with an illustrated time line; a helpful index; and a bibliographic section that includes books for further reading, Web sites, and videos. These excellent resources stand out from other titles on these frequently assigned subjects because they deal strictly with primary sources, contain top-notch illustrations, and enable students to grasp the concepts without being overwhelmed.-Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park High School, MD Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.