Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game by John Coy - ADVISABLE

Coy, John Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game, illustrated by Randy DuBurke.  PICTURE BOOK.  Carolrhoda (Lerner), 2015.  $18.  

In 1944, a team of white basketball players secretly went to a black college to play a game against a black team.  By the end of the game, the white players knew that they had been beat, but instead of hard feelings, they opened up and playing another game with mixed teams.  The actual miracle is that word of the game was kept secret for so long - not even the press leaked word, though they knew, in order to keep everyone safe from the Klan, who were very active in North Carolina, where the games took place.

What a great story from the years of segregation.  I wish PE teachers would read more to their students.  This would also, of course, fit in perfectly with any unit covering segregation.  

MS, HS - ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher

No comments: