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Written by Paula Young Shelton, first grade teacher and daughter of Andrew Young (civil rights leader, former U.N. Ambassador), Child of the Civil Rights Movement the book takes an especially personal view of the civil rights movement – a view that even young elementary students will relate to and understand.
The free verse poetry tells the story of the Young family’s move to Georgia to join in the fight for civil rights. With subtle subdivisions of events, the story of the Young family’s involvement unfolds – Going Home, My First Protest, Uncle Martin, The Civil Rights Family, Selma to Montgomery and The Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Students will identify with the child’s point of view – her limited yet personal understanding of what was happening in the world around her. As any teacher or parent knows, children have an innate sense when things are fair and when they are definitely not.
Paula’s memories are seen through a child’s mind’s eye: Martin Luther King as a kind “uncle” who swam with her in one of the only pools for African Americans in Atlanta; listening to the grownups discuss issues while hiding under a table; remembering the sense of camaraderie that a shared meal (macaroni and cheese) and cause brings to a group of people; Daddy gone from home, a lot; so many people marching together; and finally the triumph of the Voting Right Act of 1965. All is told from a child’s perspective as she sees what good people can do when they work together.
The color and texture, as well as illustrator Raul Colon’s brilliant use of light and shadow, augment the verse. Colon’s illustrations allow the reader to feel the emotion, get a real sense of the strong personalities and become familiar with the likenesses to historical figures.
The end papers themselves are worth discussion with children – images of diverse legs marching together cements the child point of view. Certainly all young children will recall a busy crowd when all they could see were people’s legs.
The book concludes with a more detailed biography about the key people involved with the civil rights movement and a bibliography including books and websites. Highly recommended for grades 1-4.
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Child of the Civil Rights Movement