The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Levinson - ESSENTIAL

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