Recommendations: Civil Rights Movement Literature

Ever since the 4th grade when I first learned about the Civil Right’s Movement, I was fascinated by the different viewpoints and stories of the activists who strove to bring equality and change in a system that didn’t protect all of its citizens well. As I’ve learned more about history through the years, my two favorite time periods to study are still the Civil Rights Movement and the Indian Independence Movement. I recently finished reading another memoir about the Civil Right’s Movement, so I wanted to put together a list of my favorite books about/from this era. Most of these are pretty accessible to readings age 11+ but are great for even adults to read because although the structuring of the book may not be that complex, the ideas and themes are so vivid and beautiful that it may be hard to capture otherwise. So without further ado, here’s my list!

1. Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals — I just finished reading this book three days ago, and so it’s still vivid in my memory. I would say that it’s probably the best book I read in 2020, or maybe that’s just because I’m still thinking about how amazing the book is. Regardless, this book is a memoir of the author, Melba Pattillo Beals, of the year (and the events leading up to) she spent as a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine high school students who integrated Little Rock, Arkansas’s Central High School in the year 1957. Although I had read about the Little Rock Nine from whatever little information there is in history textbooks, this book was incredible in giving me insight of what it was like for someone, who is around my age, to be part of such a monumental struggle of fighting for civil rights. I felt like she was someone just like me, with feelings and fears that any teenager can experience and my respect for Ms. Beals increased when I read about the torture and harassment she had to go through just to go to school and have the same facilities as whites. The memoir form of the books makes you feel like you’re in Central High School with her, with slurs being yelled at you, students trying to trip you over, administrators who don’t cooperate adding to your frustration. This is probably the best Civil Right’s Era book that I have read, just because how personal it makes this monumental event and how beautiful the narration is. It really does make you understand how much sacrifice even 15-year olds had to give in order to ensure many of the protections we have today.
2. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis — I first read this book in 5th grade as part of our Civil Right’s Movement unit and didn’t really enjoy it that much at the time. However, I’ve read this book a couple of times after that and have come to realize how amazing the story is. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 is told from the viewpoint of Kenneth “Kenney’ Watson, a young African-American boy from Flint, Michigan. In the first bit of the story, it seems pretty lighthearted — Kenney has a loving family and they really don’t face that much struggle in the North compared the atrocities that were occurring in the South during this time period. The book starts to get more interesting though, when Kenney’s older brother Byron starts to act up and his parents decide the only way to fix him is to take the entire family down to Birmingham, Alabama, where Kenney’s grandmother lives. The deeper South they get, the more racism they start to experience. I don’t want to spoil the book because it’s really good and I want you to read it and see for yourself, but white supremacists conduct an attack in Birmingham while they’re there which shakes up Kenney. Overall, this is a really great book for understanding the Civil Right’s movement from a kid’s perspective. It’s the perfect combination of cute lightheartedness and serious, through-provoking events and so I would definitely recommend that you read this.
3. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia — this was another book that I was first introduced to in 5th grade and I still come back to it at least once a year because of how wonderful every character is and how beautiful the plot is. One Crazy Summer is the story of a 10-year old girl named Delphine who’s from Brooklyn in New York. She has two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, and is basically like their mom for them, as her real mother left them when she was really young. The story revolves around them going to meet her in Oakland, California in the summer of 1968. There are two running plots in the story: the girls trying to get to know their mother who seems to want to do nothing with them, and the growing racial tension in Oakland, which was the home of the Black Panthers. The girls then go to a Black Panthers summer program where they learn about revolution. Without spoiling the book, I’m going to say that the ending is super sweet and it comes full circle. Again, this is one of my favorite book because I love how innocent yet sensitive the characters are and the plot and setting are really interesting as well. I also didn’t know about the Black Panthers until I read this book, so it was pretty interesting to learn about them and the other organizations during the Civil Rights Movement that often aren’t discussed in textbooks.

I hope you feel inspired to read one of these books and learn more about the Civil Rights Movement! All of these books are told from the viewpoint of a child or teenager, which give an interesting perspective that isn’t often discussed in school. Understanding the Civil Rights Movement and the sacrifices people of all ages gave to make our country a more equal place is so important, especially in these times where these is still rampant inequity and racism.