ENOUGH! 20+ Protesters Who Changed America, written by Emily Easton, illustrated by Ziyue Chen

 

When was the United States of America established? Officially when the Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 4, 1776. But that date was preceded by years of unrest as people in the British colonies began to protest laws, issued by the King of England, which they considered unfair—such as tax levies on goods needed for building strong lives and communities independent of the King's control. Yes, our country began with protests—the actions of individuals declaring their beliefs. Soon, the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution clearly articulated our right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press...and the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

 

The book ENOUGH! 20+ Protesters Who Changed America, by author Emily Easton, highlights courageous individuals who have used the right to speak their beliefs in pursuit of justice and fair play in our country. Readers may not recognize all the people featured but they will appreciate the causes for which, in the author’s words, “protesters have stood, marched, sat or knelt for change”—change in the way our society thinks and acts as we, together, seek to be a better nation. Each double-page spread of this bold picture book has a single sentence capturing an individual’s protest, such as “Samuel threw a tea party”, “Rachel wrote a book” and "Colin took a knee." The rich illustrations by Ziyue Chen draw readers into the immediacy of each protester’s action. Ending the book are six pages detailing the time, place and purpose of each person’s protest. We learn more about Samuel Adams, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Woody Guthrie, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Rachel Carson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Gilbert Baker, Jazz Jennings, Colin Kaepernick, America Ferrera, Parkland students, and Black Lives Matter supporters. This slim, well-crafted book is an excellent way to begin discussions about speaking and acting on one’s beliefs in constructive ways. Ages 5-8. Dragonfly Books / Penguin Random House, 2021.

She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference, by Chelsea Clinton, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger

 

She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference is an inspiring introduction to more than a dozen women and girls who have made a lasting contribution to the sciences--and by extension to the world around us. Over the years, women have had to stay particularly determined and courageous as they discovered their interests and skills in math and medicine, botany and biochemistry, animals and astronomy. As they found their places in fields dominated by men, they met barriers: were women smart enough, curious enough, strong enough to pursue these fields? Of course they were, but they had to prove it over and over again. Even today, it is vitally important for young women to see appealing and accomplished role models in science. These biographies of pioneers highlight--in artfully concise text--the intriguing pathways women took to pursue their goals. Rosalind Franklin discovered crucial information about our genetic code--work that underlaid today’s approach to disease. Gladys West took her hard-earned degrees in math to the study of celestial orbits, satellites, and oceans--undergirding the development of the GPS (Global Positioning System) so widely used today. Flossie Wong-Staal’s work studying HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) contributed to the creation of disease-fighting medications, saving countless lives. Ynes Enriquetta Julietta Mexia received a degree in botany at age fifty-one, traveling the world to discover thousands upon thousands of new species of plants. A biographical sketch, appealing quote, and full-page illustration featuring each woman on facing pages draw readers in. Their names may not yet be known by young readers but their courage and persistence will be felt: Florence Nightingale, Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Ynes Enriquetta Julietta Mexia, Grace Hopper, Rosalind Franklin, Gladys West, Jane Goodall, Flossie Wong-Staal, Temple Grandin, Zaha Hadid, Ellen Ochoa, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha & Mari Copeny, and Autumn Peltier, Greta Thunberg & Wanjiru Wathuti. Readers will be inspired to seek more information about each person. Author Chelsea Clinton and illustrator Alexandra Boiger have created a truly excellent series of books highlighting the persistence of women in our world. Philomel Books / Random House Books, 2022. Ages 4-8 years.

 

Other books in the series include: She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, She Persisted in Sports: American Olympians Who Changed the Game, and She Persisted Around the World: 13 women Who Changed History.

Lena and the Burning of Greenwood: a Tulsa Race Massacre Survival Story, by Nikki Shannon Smith, illustrated by Markia Jenai & Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

 

As citizens aware that American history courses (from elementary grades through graduate school) sometimes miss the facts and true impact of past realities, we welcome literature that presents lost history, as painful as that history may be. Whether the exclusions are intentional or unknowing, our futures are more richly informed when we hear stories that widen our knowledge and perspectives.  

 

These two books for young people shed light on events of May and June 1921, when the prosperous African American community of Greenwood, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was burned to the ground by White rioters following the alleged incident of a Black man accosting a White woman. Over one thousand homes and businesses were burned out, more than three hundred people killed, and many more were injured or rendered homeless in what is now identified as the Tulsa Race Massacre. Why have these stories not been widely told previously? Most probably the memories were too painful for those involved at the time to share; plus, the larger community of Tulsa did not want its image sullied by such a horrible event. No investigation took place for seventy-five years; the one hundredth anniversary of the event, in 2021, finally brought the event into public focus.

 

The African American community in Greenwood developed over a number of years when, after the abolition of slavery, Black Americans moved west, along with native tribes which had themselves been relocated. African American businesses thrived, and by the early 20^thcentury, the Greenwood District was known as the “Black Wall Street”—providing a secure, thriving place to be. Racial tensions with the predominant White Tulsa community existed, however, and became inflamed on May 31, 1921, with an accusation against Dick Rowland, suspected of assaulting a White woman. Though Rowland was found innocent in September 1921, the tragedy of the Tulsa Race Massacre had already taken place.

 

Lena and the Burning of Greenwood: a Tulsa Race Massacre Survival Story, told by Nikki Shannon Smith and illustrated by Markia Jenai, places 12-year-old Lena at the center of a fictional narrative as she describes her family’s sudden awareness of violence in its beloved Greenwood community. She holds tight to her father’s belief in the strength of their community even as it is challenged when they flee the death and destruction brought to their streets and homes by White rioters. Lena’s family is able to return to the site of their former community, determined to rebuild it alongside their surviving neighbors. This difficult story is beautifully crafted, capturing the emotional complexity of the happenings as well as the bonds among family members and neighbors. It is a necessary look at our history. Ages 8-12. Stone Arch Books/Capstone, 2022.

 

In Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, the phrase “Once upon a time in Greenwood…” introduces numerous pages of this deeply moving picture book history of the African American community that grew in Tulsa beginning in the mid-1800s. Readers learn of the resourcefulness, creativity and hard work that built Greenwood and supported a thriving community. When a standoff between Tulsa’s White and Black citizens gets out of hand, an entire established neighborhood is destroyed by White arsonists, looters and murderers. It may seem hard to believe that this tragedy can be presented in a book for young people, but author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper (both of whom have personal connections with Greenwood history) have crafted an outstanding book—immeasurably somber and yet hopeful. End notes by both creators of this award-winning book add to the history, firmly demonstrating that much of the history we read is expressly personal to those who lived it, sending ripples of understanding into society today. Ages 8 to adult. Carolrhoda Books / Lerner Publishing Group, 2021.

 

A discussion guide is presented here: Unspeakable. Readers can also visit https://www.nps.gov/places/oklahoma-john-hope-franklin-reconciliation-park.htm

Kent State, by Deborah Wiles

 

In early May 1970, four unarmed college students were killed and nine other people wounded at Kent State University in Ohio. The event shocked the nation; it was the first time students were killed in an anti-war gathering. Protesting the war in Vietnam had been going on for years; it escalated at numerous college campuses and public venues in late April 1970, when South Vietnamese forces and U. S. troops invaded Cambodia in an effort to curb planning and recruitment by the North Vietnamese military. In her book Kent State, author Deborah Wiles examines documentary evidence (oral histories, personal interviews with witnesses, newspapers and other written accounts archived in Kent State University special collections and in the Kent Public Library and Historical Society) to compose her novel about the May events at Kent State. In a remarkable narrative, Wiles presents accounts of the happenings from variety of perspectives—from students (protesters, bystanders, the Black United Students), from townspeople, from the National Guardsmen who were called in, from the local police and more. To convey the chaos and concerns as events unfolded over several days, voices from each perspective are written in different fonts—a sort of prose poem enabling readers to grasp the disparate emotions and conflicting opinions. 

 

One might call Kent State a “docu-novel”—a fictional story based on authentic sources, intended to convey the true import of happenings. Encyclopedia Britannica says: “history [is a] discipline that studies the chronological record of events, usually attempting, on the basis of a critical examination of source materials, to explain events.” Using primary sources, author Wiles draws readers into the immediacy of the occasion, forcing an awareness of multiple points of view in the context of our U. S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Those several days on the Kent campus and town seem nothing short of terrifying when long-held beliefs feel suspended. The narrative in Kent State does not draw conclusions about whether calling out the National Guard was warranted by the student protests. The intent of the demonstrations was peaceful protest; the origin of some disruptive activities and a fire on campus was never fully determined. What does our nation’s dedication to “the freedom of speech, or of the press; the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” mean at a particular time and place? What does it mean when innocent people are harmed? Who are the other people affected and in what way? What role does media play? Whose role is it to protect First Amendment rights, or to exert control? These questions remain pointedly relevant in today’s world. Freedom of speech and of expression are cornerstones of a vital democracy. What steps can we take to protect them in challenging times? Ages 12-18. Scholastic Press, 2020.

 

Readers can visit the May 4 Visitors Center online: https://www.kent.edu/may4visitorscenter/online-exhibits . 

To read and think further about documentary novels, visit the author’s website: https://deborahwiles.com .

Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist MaVynee Betsch, by Heidi Tyline King, illustrated by Ekua Holmes

 

Sometimes the actions of just one person can leave a lasting footprint on the course of history. MaVynee Betsch left such a footprint. Growing up along the northeast coastline of Florida, MaVynee came to love the ocean beach. Her great grandfather Abraham Lincoln Lewis loved it too, but despaired that the ocean water was divided by an orange rope separating black swimmers from white—customary segregation during the Jim Crow years of our history. Lewis, a successful entrepreneur, bought the beach and established a lively and beautiful recreation spot for the black community. It soon became American Beach—a magnet for people far and near, including such performers as Ray Charles and Duke Ellington. Meanwhile, MaVynee had grown up to become an opera singer, performing across the wide ocean in Europe. Returning to America when her mother became ill, MaVynee discovered  that “her” American Beach had suffered from neglect as a result of desegregation laws that opened facilities across the nation to all races, drawing people to new venues. MaVynee made a pledge to save the beach and restore it to its rich natural beauty. In the process, she fought with beachfront developers and garnered supporters through her determined and flamboyant energy. Ultimately just a sliver of beach front remained but through her tireless efforts, the U. S. President George W. Bush signed the protection of American Beach into law. It became part of the National Park Service, and a site on the National Register of Historic Places and Florida Black History Trail. In Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist MaVynee Betsch, author Heidi Tyline King weaves MaVynee’s personality and passion into a wonderful story. Ekua Holmes’s vibrant paint-and-collage illustrations capture the moods and spirit of both the beach and its indomitable advocate MaVynee, a true “agent of change.” Ages 4-9. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021.

 

For more information about MaVynee and American Beach, explore https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/mavynee-beach-lady-betsch-39 and https://www.nps.gov/places/american-beach-nana-sand-dune.htm

Because Claudette, by Tracey Baptiste, illustrated by Tonya Engel

 

Claudette Colvin’s name may not be easily recognized among the luminous heroes of the civil rights movement—such people as Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks and John Lewis. This wonderful picture book introduces readers to young Claudette in a compelling way, in a narrative echoing the “Because” in the title with a series of instances that had a ripple effect. Only 15 years old, Claudette began the ripple when she was arrested in March, 1955, refusing to give her seat on a public bus to a white person two years before Rosa Parks’s similar action initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. At the time of her arrest, Claudette’s parents obtained a lawyer who suggested she meet with Rosa Parks, then a member of the NAACP, an active civil rights organization. Ms. Parks and Claudette became good friends. As she learned more and more about historical heroes working for equality and women actively working for equal rights in the present, Claudette did not feel alone in her pursuit. When a young preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at a local church, he inspired key citizens of Montgomery to take immediate action, and the ripple expanded outward. One person after another did their important parts to organize a bus boycott urging the mayor of Montgomery to change the law regarding sitting on the city's buses. Flyers were printed, people who normally rode the buses walked or shared rides to work, people far away donated money to the cause, and young Claudette was asked to testify in court about her experience and belief about equality. Claudette was so convincing, the judge changed the law, but the city of Montgomery and the state of Alabama refused to comply, and the bus boycott went on for well over a year. Finally, the issue was settled in a U. S. Supreme Court decision: “On December 21, 1956, anyone could sit wherever they liked on the bus.”

 

In Because Claudette, author Tracey Baptiste describes the journey begun by Claudette in a clear, matter-of-fact manner that allows readers to follow this important path of activism on the part of ordinary citizens. Tonya Engel’s luminous illustrations invite readers into the moments described, completing a riveting account of this important time in the history of civil rights. Ages 6-9. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022.

Further information about the Montgomery Bus Boycott: https://www.nps.gov/articles/montgomery-bus-boycott.htm

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington

Our nation has become increasingly aware of Emmett Till’s name and circumstances in recent years as the history of injustice to African Americans is documented more thoroughly and accurately. Readers may be less familiar with the voice and the relentless actions of Emmet's mother Mamie Till-Mobley, who spoke immediately and publicly about his death by lynching in August 1955. Her actions led, ultimately, to the passage by the U. S. Senate of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act on March 7, 2022, making lynching a federal crime. In the nonfiction illustrated book Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, author Angela Joy and artist Janelle Washington document the extraordinarily painful and courageous role Mamie Till-Mobley played in the movement to bring justice and healing to individuals and communities suffering from loss and injustice. Emmett’s mother insisted that his body—beaten, killed and thrown in the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi where Emmett was visiting relatives—be sent home to Illinois and displayed publicly for people to see the horror her son endured. The men responsible for Emmet’s death were not convicted, the result of an inaccurate, incomplete, unjust trial. The book’s text is concise and lyrical, describing Emmet, his mother, his lynching and the events and advocacy that followed in powerful simplicity. Janelle Washington’s cut-paper and colored illustrations capture telling moments in the narrative, inviting readers to sense deeply the import of Emmet’s story. Mamie Till-Mobley, through her relentless energy, connected with African Americans well familiar with the discrimination of the Jim Crow era, including Rosa Parks, spurring further activism that powered the Civil Rights movement. Till-Mobley, as an educator and activist, founded the Emmett Till Players in 1973, a group of young people who brought the inspiring words of Martin Luther King, Jr., to audiences across the nation. An author’s note, an illustrator’s note, the “Choosing Brave: The Soundtrack," vocabulary related to the story, a timeline and sources provide excellent additional insights to the story of Emmett Till. The importance of this story cannot be overemphasized, difficult though it is, and this is the book through which young people and their grown-ups can experience it. Ages 8 to adult. Roaring Brook Press, 2022.

 

For readers interested in more books for young people related to peace, social justice, global community and equity, please explore the Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards.