We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March
AUTHOR
ILLUSTRATOR
SERIES
TYPE
AGE
Children's - 5th Grade+, Age 10+
READABILITY
7.7
PAGES
180 p. ;
KEYWORDS
CATEGORIES
SUBJECTS
PUBLISHER
Make Way For Books
Provides an unflinching exploration of Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, when a series of protests including the Children's March, changed a community and country. Told through the perspectives of four participants, the book relates history with an immediacy and authenticity rarely found in such nonfiction. NOTE: Since the book features eyewitness accounts and quotes from major players, racially insensitive language is used within appropriate historical contexts. Some young adults may need direction in understanding the usage of terms that are inappropriate in contemporary society.
Publisher Summary
The inspiring story of the 1963 Birmingham Children's March as seen through the eyes of four young people at the center of the action. The 1963 Birmingham Children's March was a turning point in American civil rights history. Black Americans had had enough of segregation and police brutality, but with their lives and jobs at stake, most adults were hesitant to protest the city's racist culture. So the fight for civil rights lay in the hands of children like Audrey Hendricks, Wash Booker, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter.
We've Got a Job tells the little-known story of the four thousand Black elementary, middle, and high school students who answered Dr. Martin Luther King's call to "fill the jails." Between May 2 and May 11, 1963, these young people voluntarily went to jail, drawing national attention to the cause, helping bring about the repeal of segregation laws, and inspiring thousands of other young people to demand their rights.
Drawing on her extensive research and in-depth interviews with participants, award-winning author Cynthia Levinson recreates the events of the Birmingham Children's March from a new and very personal perspective. Archival photography and informational sidebars throughout. Back matter includes an afterword, author's note, timeline, map, and bibliography.