race relations

When Ruby Bridges was six years old, she became the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. Told in the perspective of her six year old self and based on the pivotal events that happened in 1960, Ruby tells her story like never before, embracing her name and learning that even at six years old she was able to pave the path for future generations.

"On February 1, 1960, four young black men sat down at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and staged a nonviolent protest against segregation. At that time, many restaurants in the South did not serve black people. Soon, thousands of students were staging sit-ins in 55 states, and within six months, the lunch counter at which they'd first protested was integrated. How did a lunch counter become a symbol of civil rights? Readers will find out the answer to this question and what an artifact can tell us about U.S. civil rights history"--Provided by publisher.

"A dynamic family exchange that pivots between the voices of a father and son, The Movement Made Us is a unique work of oral history and memoir, chronicling the extraordinary story of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and its living legacy embodied in Black Lives Matter. David Dennis Sr., a core architect of the movement, speaks out for the first time, swapping recollections both harrowing and joyful with David Jr., a journalist working on the front lines of change today. Taken together, their stories paint a critical portrait of America, casting one nation's image through the lens of two individual Black men and their unique relationship. Playful and searching, anxious and restorative, fearless and driving, this intimate memoir features scenes from across David Sr.'s life, as he becomes involved in the movement, tries to move beyond it, and ultimately returns to it to find final solace and new sense of self--revealing a survivor who travels eternally with a cabal of ghosts. A crucial addition to Civil Rights history, The Movement Made Us is the story of a nation reckoning with change and the hopes, struggles, setbacks, and triumphs of modern Black life. This is it: the extant chronicle of why we live, why we move, and for what we are made"--From the publisher's web site.

Chronicles the life of Civil Rights activist Miss Mary Hamilton, discussing her childhood, education, involvement with the Freedom Riders, her multiple arrests, and how she fought for respect of all citizens in a case decided before the U.S. Supreme Court. Includes a timeline and further resources.

"Jim Crow and Policing explores the unjust laws and law enforcement policies Black people have faced in a comprehensive, honest, and age-appropriate way"--Provided by publisher.

"Explores the intents and effects of both [desegregation and integration] concepts--especially as it relates to schools and education--in a comprehensive, honest, and age-appropriate way"--Provided by publisher.

"The struggle against racism takes many forms: statues of Confederate heroes have been removed, Confederate-named schools have been renamed, and efforts to help minorities vote have been made. But despite these accomplishments in confronting racism, there is more work to be done. Removing statues and changing names are outward demonstrations of the fight against racism, but in the end, change must begin in the hearts of all Americans"--Provided by publisher.

"An inspiring picture book biography of Ida B. Wells--who was an educator, journalist, feminist, businesswoman, newspaper owner, public speaker, suffragist, civil rights activist, and women's club leader--as told by her great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster"--Provided by publisher.

"Maud Newton's ancestors have vexed and fascinated her since she was a girl. Her mother's father, who came of age during the Great Depression in Texas, was supposedly married thirteen times, and survived being shot in the stomach by one of his wives. His father purportedly killed a man in the street with a hay hook, and later died in a mental institution. On her father's side, a Massachusetts ancestor was accused of being a witch, who cast sickness on her neighbor's ox and was later tried in court for causing the death of a child. Maud's father had a master's in aerospace engineering on scholarship from an Ivy League university and was valedictorian of his law school class; he also viewed slavery as a benevolent institution that should never have been disbanded, and would paint over the faces of brown children in her storybooks. He was obsessed with maintaining the purity of his family bloodline, which he could trace back to the days of the Revolutionary War. Her mother was a whirlwind of charisma and passions that could become obsessions; she kept over thirty cats and birds in a tiny two-bedroom apartment, and later started a church in her living room, where she would perform exorcisms. Maud's parents' marriage was acrimonious, their divorce a relief. But the meeting of their lines in her was something she could not shake. She signed up for an online account and began researching her genealogy. She found records of marriages and trials, wills in which her ancestors gave slaves to their spouses and children. The search took over her life. But as she dabbled in DNA testing and found herself sunk in census archives at 1 o'clock in the morning, it was unclear to her what she was looking for. She wanted a truth that would set her free, in a way she hadn't identified yet. This book seeks to understand why the practice of genealogy has become a multi-billion-dollar industry in contemporary America, while also mining the secrets and contradictions of one singularly memorable family history"--.

In 1967, when his teacher loans him a copy of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," eleven-year-old Ellis Earl Brown is amazed to encounter a family worse off than his own and wonders if happy endings only come in books.