March: Book One

By: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin

Lewis, J., & Aydin, A. (2013). March: Book One (N. Powell, Illustrator).
Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions.

March is a first-hand account of U.S. congressman John Lewis'
struggle for civil and human rights in the format of a graphic novel.
This includes his key roles in the historic 1963 March on Washington
and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March. This would be a fabulous
novel to bring into the classroom, as it is a true account of events in
history, and at the same time its written in such a way that would
captivate and interest our students.



Weve got a job: The 1963 Birmingham Childrens March
By: Cynthia Levinson

Levinson, C. (2012). We've got a job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's
March. Atlanta, Ga.: Peachtree Publishers.

Weve Got a Job tells the little-known story of the 4,000 black
elementary-, middle-, and high school students who voluntarily went
to jail in Birmingham, Alabama, between May 2 and May 11, 1963.
Fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi s and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. s precept
to fill the jails, they succeeded where adults had failed in
desegregating one of the most racially violent cities in America. This
book is not only a great informational text, but also tells a riveting
story that our students would really enjoy listening to or reading.


Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry
By: Mildred Taylor

Taylor, M. (2004). Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Puffin
Books.

While this book doesnt directly show or talk about the Civil Rights
movement per say, it does speak about other injustices that this
fictional Logan family and those around them endured. Such
injustices include lynchings, killings, harassment, and being denied
service at various establishments because of their skin color. These
are all actions and similar events that many people of color had to
endure during the Civil Rights time period. This book would be a
great book to have in a Social Studies classroom, or taught in an
English classroom as a way to speak to how people of color were treated during this time.
The Watsons Go To Birmingham
By: Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis, C. (2000). The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963: A Novel.
New York: Dell Laurel Leaf.

We used this book directly in our ICP. The author Christopher Paul
Curtis does a great job of showing the differences between the
north and the south during this time period. Another great aspect of
this book is the way its formatted, the family drives from the north to
the south, and as they do so, you are able to see the differences in
atmosphere, as well as various events in history that occurred. One
of the events that this story depicts/talks about is the1963 16th Street
Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.


Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, Americas
first black paratroopers
By: Tanya Lee Stone

Stone, T. L. (2013). Courage has no color: the true story of the Triple
Nickles: America's first Black paratroopers. Somerville, Mass.:
Candlewick Press.

World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are
fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on
the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African
Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military.
Enlisted black men are segregated from white soldiers and regularly
relegated to service duties. This book would be a great story to bring
into the classroom, as it shows that discrimination based on the color peoples skin took
place even in government jobs such as the military.

A Wreath for Emmett Till
By: Marilyn Nelson, Philippe Lardy

Nelson, M., & Lardy, P. (2005). A wreath for Emmett Till. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.

In 1955, people all over the United States knew that Emmett Till was
a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly
whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder,
the open-casket funeral, and the acquittal of the men tried for the
crime drew wide media attention and Emmett Till's murder was one
of several reasons the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed; it allowed
the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in local law enforcement
issues when civil rights were being compromised.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
By: Philip Hoose

Hoose, P. (2010). Claudette Colvin: Twice toward justice. New York,
NY: Square Fish.

This book takes place just shortly (9 months) after Rosa Parks refused
to give up her seat on the Montgomery Alabama bus, and begins
with the school age girlClaudette Colvin who also refuses to give
up her seat on a bus. It chronicles her life as she deals with the daily
injustices of Jim Crow segregation, as well as her participation as a
key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck
down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the
legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South. This book was written
largely impart by because of extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others.
This would be a great book to have in the classroom library for students to read during the
course of this Unit, as it gives a different perspective on life back during this time period.


A Dream Of Freedom
By: Diane Mcwhorter

Mcwhorter, D. (2004). Booklist Editor's Choice. Books for Youth: A
dream of freedom. New York, NY: Scholastic Nonfiction.

This non-fiction text does a great job of depicting events and what
life was like during the years of 1954 (the year of Brown versus the
Board of Education) and 1968 (the year that Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was assassinated). The book starts off with an overview of the Civil
Rights Movement since the end of the Civil War, and the author also
discusses events such as the 1956 bus boycott, the 1961 Freedom
Rides, and the 1963 demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama, among
others. This would be a great resource to have in the classroom for students to reference.

Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story
By: Timothy B. Tyson

Tyson, T. (2004). Blood done sign my name : a true story. New York,
NY: Three Rivers Press.

While, yes this book is set in a time that is after the time period that
we are studying in our unit, this book in a very powerful way shows
that even though many areas of the United States were progressing
and changing, small towns like Oxford, North Carolina still had yet to
change. Because of this unwillingness to change, Henry Marrow, a
twenty-three-year-old black veteran was killed in a public place as
he pleaded for his life. This all happened because he walked into a
crossroads store owned by Robert Teel. Teel and two of his sons
chased and beat Marrow, eventually killing him. This would be a great addition to the
classroom library, and great read for students.


This is the Day: The March on Washington
By: Leonard Freed and J. Paul Getty Museum

Freed, L. & Dyson, M. (2013). This is the day: the March on
Washington. Los Angeles, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum.

This book is unique because it commemorates the fiftieth
anniversary of the historic march that led to the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. This book shows the seventy-five
photographs that were chosen from among the hundreds of
images that Freed made in the nation's capitolbefore, during,
and after the march. This book will help students imagine what it
would be like to be involved in the March on Washington, as
many of the images will be shown during class.


Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on Washington
By Gary Jeffery

Jeffrey, G. (2013). Martin Luther King Jr. and the March on
Washington. New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Publishing

This book is in the format of a graphic novel, and highlights the
lives of various Civil Rights Movement heroessuch as Martin
Luther King Jr. At times, the illustrations are realistic enough to
border on being mistaken for an actual photograph. Each
volume begins and ends with pages of narrative information and
photos. Shifting visual perspectives add interest. One vantage
point is looking over Lincoln's massive stone shoulder while Martin
Luther King, Jr. addresses a crowd from the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial. Another panel shows the contemplative face of Rosa Parks looking out a bus
window, street signs reflecting on the glass. This would be a great addition to a classroom
library as it shows various figures in the movement, and students will really be intrigued!











Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories
By: Ellen Levine


Levine, E. (2000). Freedom's children : young civil rights activists
tell their own stories. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

In this inspiring collection of true stories, thirty African-Americans
who were children or teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s talk
about what it was like for them to fight segregation in the South-
to sit in an all-white restaurant and demand to be served, to
refuse to give up a seat at the front of the bus, to be among the
first to integrate the public schools, and to face violence, arrest,
and even death for the cause of freedom. What a great book
that would give the kids additional information and different perspectives about some of
the topics that they learned about in their web quest.

Remember: The Journey to School Integration
By: Toni Morrison
Morrison, T. (2004). Remember : the journey to school integration.
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.

The author of this book has collected a great deal of archival
photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school
desegregation. These unforgettable images serve as the
inspiration for this booka fictional account of the dialogue and
emotions of the children who lived during the era of separate
but equal schooling. Remember is a unique pictorial and
narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period
in American history and its relevance to us today. This book
would be placed in the classroom library, and would be a great
read for the students so that they can see how schools and various establishments were
before the Civil Rights Movement.

Bombingham
By: Anthony Grooms

Grooms, A. (2002). Bombingham. New York, NY: The Ballantine
Publishing Group.

The book is based on a young boy who lived in Birmingham, Alabama.
The young boy was never previewed to much of the civil rights
movement until he learned his best friends family was extremely
involved. The reader is told events from the civil rights movement in
Birmingham, Alabama from the perspective of a young boy. This
would be a good novel to have in a classroom library or have for a
read aloud to the students in class when studying the civil rights.



The Stick Wife
By: Darrah Cloud

Cloud, D. (1996). The Stick Wife. Woodstock, IL: The Dramatic
Publishing Company.

The play is a good play to use in a class. The play is based on a wifes
perspective of the church bombing in Birmingham. As a reader you
see the wifes perspective on her husbands actions as part of the
KKK and taking part in the horrific events that occur during the
church bombing in Birmingham. This would be a good tool to use in a
classroom so that the students are able to see how the civil rights
went from a different perspective.