Levinson, Cynthia We’ve Got A Job: The 1963 Birmingham
Children’s March, 160 p. $20. Content: G.
In
1944, Birmingham, Alabama adopted the first of their Segregation Ordinances, to
keep blacks away from whites. In
1956, when Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth starts found a Human Rights Coalition,
things start heating up, culminating in the racially charged, physically
dangerous year of 1963. AS part of
the Movement, 100’s of the black children of Birmingham decide that they, too,
will participate in a march of their own, willing to be attacked or go to jail
for the chance to be treated like a human being.
Loaded with photographs, testimonies and well-researched
information, this book is a powerhouse look at the power of children. Levinson looks through the eyes of four
specific child participants, but gives an excellent overview to the entire
history of racial strife in Birmingham.
In her afterword, Levinson mentions the concerns of those marchers who
feel like the latest black generation is wasting all of the rights that their
parents and grandparents fought for.
I’m glad we love non-fiction at my school – I hope yours does too.
MS, HS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
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