Civil Rights

White Socks Only

Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary

The Civil Rights Freedom Train

Chester Comix brings history to reluctant readers! In this full-color graphic novel you will find exciting biographies of Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thurgood Marshall. A timeline across every page helps students place people and events in context. Each book can be a literacy tool (the titles across the top of each page are questions, which make great writing prompts for students) or a research source (each book has an index).

I Have A Dream

On August 28, 1963, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his most memorable and inspiring speech to a country divided by riots over racial injustice. With the words "I have a dream," King invoked his vision of a racially harmonious America, where "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." This elegant gift edition of Dr. King's unforgettable speech is the perfect way to share his powerful message of hope and compassion. Featuring the complete text and a foreword by King's daughter, the Reverend Bernice A. King, I Have a Dream presents a moving portrait of a visionary at the peak of his influence.

My Dream of Martin Luther King

Faith Ringgold had a dream about Martin Luther King. Simply narrated in her own voice, Ringgold--award-winning creator of Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad in the Sky paints a vivid, powerful picture of King's childhood and strong family life, along with glimpses of prejudice, segregation, and protest. Her vision blurs dreamily into King's adult life--from his family, to protests of Rosa Parks's arrest, even to his assassination: "This time we had come to mourn Martin Luther King's death by trading in bags containing our prejudice, hate, ignorance, violence, and fear for the slain hero's dream. We emptied the bags onto a great pile, and as the last bag was dumped, the pile exploded into a fire so bright that it lit up the whole world. There, emblazoned across the sky, were the words: EVERY GOOD THING STARTS WITH A DREAM." Illustrated with Ringgold's dramatic folk-modern paintings, My Dream of Martin Luther King is one of the most creative, successful, accessible tributes to Martin Luther King for children that we've seen. (Ages 4 to 8)

Illustrated in full color. The acclaimed author/illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Tar Beach recounts her unique vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. by describing a dream she had about the great civil rights leader. The dream includes scenes of King's childhood and the major events of his life, from the boycott of the segregated buses to his "I Have a Dream" speech to his assassination. Illustrated in Ringgold's signature folk-art style, the text includes the author's own personal vision, in which she imagines the people of the world gathering in King's memory to trade prejudice, fear, and hate for hope, peace, and love.

Follow the Leader

When Amanda's Southern school district is integrated in 1971, her family is all for it. Amanda's nervous about what sixth grade will bring, but with her best friend Jackie at her side, she's ready for anything. After all, they'll be pioneers--making history like the men who landed on the moon. But Jackie chooses to go to a brand-new, private, all-white school, and Amanda must face public school alone. There she finds new friends, a challenging music teacher, and the courage to confront Jackie's prejudice.

Dear Dr. King: Letter's From Today's Children to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus. This simple act of defiance spurred African American residents' 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system and arguably fueled the civil rights movement itself.

For the last 40 years, Rosa Parks has received thousands and thousands of letters, most of them from children. This elegantly designed book contains a diverse selection of these letters on topics ranging from hope to O.J. Simpson, and Parks's replies are simple, sometimes poignant, but always reassuring.

The first letter from a child in Oakland, California, begins, "I am sorry that you went to jail because you did not give in to the system. Mrs. Parks, please try and stop the violence and the killing, because where I live lots of people get taken out (killed). "With her thoughtful answers to this ("Life should not be taken for granted") and other letters, Rosa Parks continues her legacy of challenging us to become a force for positive change. Children will be inspired and soothed by the words of this remarkable woman. (Ages 8 and older)

Oh, Freedom!: Kids Talk About the Civil Rights Movement with the People Who Made It Happen: (Foreword by Rosa Parks)

A personal look at the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in a provocative and engrossing book that is filled with passionate stories and important information. Choosing from 500 interviews that fourth graders from Washington, D.C., conducted with their parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends, the authors compiled a historical account of how ordinary people made a difference during the civil rights movement. With a forward by Rosa Parks, Oh, Freedom! also includes interviews with a few legendary participants, including James Farmer (organizer of the Freedom Rides) and Walter Fauntroy (chairman of the March on Washington). Besides the dozens of archival photographs of important moments during the movement, readers will see photographic portraits of the kids and adults who took part in the interviews, In addition, three introductory essays detail each phase of the movement. Educators, librarians, and parents will be thrilled to have such an appealing and unique book to share with children.  

THE STORY:
In 1989, author Casey King was a 4th grade teacher in Washington, DC.  His class, comprised mostly of African-American students, knew little about the modern civil rights movement. Without a satisfactory text on the movement from which to teach, he decided that the kids should learn their history first hand. So, he sent them out to interview the people who were really there.  The kids came back with truly wonderful stories -- many of the parents, grandparents, and friends interviewed had never before had the opportunity to share their stories with their children.

THE BOOK:
There are 31 interviews that cover three main areas of the movement:  life under segregation, the nonviolent movement, and the black power movement. Everyone is here -- regular, ordinary people who dedicated themselves to the cause of freedom and the fight for equality, and even a few of the better known people whose names we hear and associate with Martin Luther King, or with the Freedom Rides, or with other familiar aspects of the movement. In her foreword, Rosa Parks writes, "I can't think of anything more important to teach young people today than this: that ordinary people working together can change history." Through warm, down-to-earth interviews with children, readers will meet people who lived in the segregated south, people who took part in sit-ins, people who were jailed for protesting, and people who found strength they never knew they had. They will meet a member of the Black Panthers, a woman who witnessed the assassination of Malcolm X, and a former Ku Klux Klansman. In addition, there are three introductory essays which provide background information to help kids to better understand the context of the interviews.  Also included are portraits of the people in each interview and over 40 archival photographs of important moments during the movement.