It All Comes Down to This

English, Karen. It All Comes Down to This. 2017. 368p. ISBN 978-0-544-83957-1. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

In 1965, the Civil Rights movement is in full swing in the United States. The Civil Rights Act was just passed the year before, but Jim Crow laws remain on the books in much of the country. California is more free than most states, but even there being African-American is to be part of the struggle for equal rights. For twelve-year-old Sophie, however, these issues are nothing but background noise.

As a member of the only African-American family in her neighborhood, she will be entering 9th grade along with her best friend Jennifer, who also happens to be twelve also as well as white. Her older sister Lily, meanwhile, will be moving to Atlanta to attend Spelman College, a black college. Sophie will find herself alone with her mother, who owns an art gallery, and her father, who is lawyer. Sophie dreads the countdown to August.

A trio of sisters down the road from Sophie have a pool, but she cannot swim there as their parents forbid colored people. Sophie is often reminded that she is African-American, but she doesn’t see what race has to do with it. Interested in writing and acting, Sophie and Jennifer seize the chance to audition for a community play, but she knows she will be the only African-American kid to audition. She plans on memorizing not only her part but all of the play, just to get a fighting chance.

With her parents’ marriage falling apart and a mistress in the picture, Sophie finds herself spending more time alone with Mrs. Baylor, the new housekeeper. Lily, meanwhile, finds herself attracted to Nathan, Mrs. Baylor’s son, who’s blacker than night while Lily could almost pass as white. This attraction is frowned upon by their mother, through the bias that lighter skin is better.

As Sophie experiences racism and as the summer days slowly drain away, the racial tensions in Los Angeles near the boiling point. Can Sophie learn to cope with the cards she’s been dealt? For a boy’s perspective on a similar theme, read Armstrong & Charlie, taking place a decade later in Los Angeles.

Confederate Flag: Controversial Symbol of the South

Marcovitz, Hal. Confederate Flag: Controversial Symbol of the South. Part of the Patriotic Symbols of America. 2015. 48p. ISBN 978-1-4222-3121-0. Available at 929.92 on the library shelves.

The Confederate flag has been in the news recently as a symbol of racism and of oppression. Yet for many, it represents a cultural heritage for which men fought and died. When Southern States seceded from the Union following Abraham Lincoln’s election, they formed their own government and appointed a committee to create symbols for the new Confederacy. The result was the Stars and Bars, a flag similar in design and colors to that of the United States. This design proved dangerous in battle, however, as it was impossible at a distance, with dust and smoke, to determine to which side troops belonged. Both flags were red, white and blue with bars and stars!

Generals in the field designed a new battle flag that could not be mistaken for Union flags, and soon this flag was adopted and used throughout the South. It never replaced the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy, which evolved twice more over the next four years, yet it became the most recognized symbol of the South.

This book presents the history of the flag and discusses current and past controversies surrounding its use in the South. Fans of history will appreciate learning about the process of symbolism from creation to adoption to veneration, but in the end they will have to answer for themselves whether they view the Confederate flag as a tool of oppression or of freedom.

The Right to Privacy

Kemper, Bitsy. The Right to Privacy. Part of the Understanding the United States Constitution series. 2015. 112p. ISBN 978-14777506-6. Available at 342.73 KEM on the library shelves.

The right to privacy does not appear anywhere in the United States’ Constitution, yet courts have over the years interpreted many of the amendments as providing several guidelines against government overreach in people’s lives. During the colonial period, British soldiers could and often searched colonists’ homes and lodged there without compensation. In reaction, the framers of the Constitution added the Bill of Rights to protect the new nation.

Aside from exploring the historical roots of the right to privacy, this book explores issues related to video cameras in schools and in public, the legal searching of students’ lockers and possessions, the right of schools to drug test athletes, access to medical and educational records, garbage collection, and metal detectors at school entrances. Federal and state law cases are examined in relation to these topics. Tort is introduced and explained, and the future of privacy in a surveillance age is discussed.

Every student should read this book to understand their rights and their obligations. Only by being informed can they know whether schools are violating their rights.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. 2009. 133p. ISBN 978-0-374-31322-7. Available at B COL on the library shelves.

Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin had no idea she would become the trigger that led to the desegregation of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama when, on March 2, 1955, she decided to remain in her seat instead of giving it up to a white woman. Arrested, handcuffed and jailed, Claudette fought the Jim Crow laws of the South and worked with the NAACP to take her case to court to challenge the constitutionality of “separate but equal.” Unfortunately, the city withdrew the violating segregating law charge and instead Claudette was convicted of assaulting a police officer. The case the South had been waiting for disappeared.

Instead of being praised, Claudette became a pariah at her school and in her community. It didn’t help matters that she became pregnant out of wedlock. Meanwhile, the NAACP’s local secretary, Rosa Parks, followed in Claudette’s steps and was arrested on the bus for not giving up her seat. Unlike Claudette, she was the perfect poster child: She was 42, a devout church goer, well appreciated in the community, and a hard worker.

With nothing changing, Dr. Martin Luther King and his colleagues called for a boycott of the Montgomery bus system, and filed a lawsuit against the city. Claudette was once again approached to testify, and she readily agreed. This time, the lawsuit was successful, and the bus company was ordered desegregated. Claudette’s refusal to give her seat nine months before Rosa Park had been the catalyst for change sought by the African-American community, and her actions directly contributed to the birth of the Civil Rights movement.

The Migration North

De Medeiros, James. The Migration North. Part of the African American History series. 2009. 48p. ISBN 978-1-59036-880-0. Available at 304.8 DE on the library shelves.

The end of the Civil War did not bring an end to the suffering and the intolerance that gripped the Southern States. Instead, it was replaced by Jim Crow and segregation. African-Americans who wanted a better life began leaving the South and migrated northward, to states like Illinois and Michigan where jobs were plentiful and discrimination was not as entrenched.

This migration occurred in two distinct phases, with African-Americans moving north before the Great Depression, then again following the end of the Second World War. The NAACP and African American publications out of Chicago were responsible for publicizing the opportunities available in the North. Integration of the troops during the Second World War set the stage for the eventual growth of the Civil Rights movement.

This short books provides an excellent overview of this lesser-known topic to readers who enjoy history and civil rights.

The Pullman Strike of 1894

Burgan, Michael. The Pullman Strike of 1894. 2008. 48p. ISBN 978-0-7565-3348-9. Available at 331.892 BUR on the library shelves.

The industrial revolution forever changed the way people in the United States lived and worked. The expansion of the railroad suddenly allowed travel and shipping across vast distances over a short period of time, making the country suddenly accessible to most. Many train travelers of the time enjoyed the luxurious Pullman car, with its fancy woodwork and comfortable seating and sleeping arrangements.

Build in Chicago by the Pullman Palace Car Company, the Pullman car at first took the country by storm and provided for better traveling conditions. Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company were comparatively well paid and had access to company housing in Pullman’s own town. George Pullman, owner and founder of the company, wanted to provide the best possible working environment for his workers.

But as the economic conditions deteriorated during the 1893 recession, the number of travellers declined, train companies stopped purchasing cars for their trains, and Pullman suddenly found himself having to cut costs. He laid off 1,500 workers and significantly cut the remaining workers’ pay. At the same time, however, he refused to lower the rents he was charging for living in company housing. This led to a volatile situation where workers were no longer making enough to pay for their rent. Some workers received paychecks worth pennies after their rent and utilities were deducted.

The workers decided to fight back, and organized a union which called for a strike in 1894. Eventually, the strikers were repressed by federal soldiers, and many were killed or imprisoned. The labor movement continued, however, and eventually led to better working conditions across the United States.

This short book effectively tells this story of workers rising against the capitalists who controlled the means of production, and the changes that occurred during and after the strike. Fans of history will enjoy the description of this conflict. Click on this link for more information about the Pullman Strike of 1894.

Walter Dean Myers

Hoover, Elizabeth. Walter Dean Myers. 2014. 96p. ISBN 978-1-4205-0859-8. Available at B MYE on the library shelves.

One of the most prolific young adult writers, Walter Dean Myers didn’t start out with the idea of writing. As a young boy, Myer’s father could not take care of him so he sent him to live with his first wife and her new husband. She was barely literate, but read to him every night from magazines, a habit he later picked up and continued. As an African-American youth, Myers was, as he said, “a demographic disaster waiting to happen,” and he was expected to find a menial low-paying job like the rest of the men of the neighborhood.

But Myers wanted more. He read voraciously, but hid this fact from his friends and family so he would not get picked on. A speech impediment was serious enough to prevent him from expressing himself, so he began to write. Not fitting in school, he eventually stopped going at all, and instead roamed the streets of Harlem.

Stuck in a dead-end job, Myers began to write, and a story was accepted for publication. Over the next decade, he established himself as a prolific and well-researched writer, who talks about his experiences growing up and what life was like in the neighborhoods where he grew up. Always pushing the envelope, Myers touched on controversial subjects, and published over 70 books.

An inspiration to many, Myer’s life is worth examining for the lessons in perseverance and on the craft of writing.

X: A Novel

Shabazz, Ilyasha with Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel. 2015. 348p. ISBN 978-0-7636-6967-6. Available at FIC SHA on the library shelves.

Malcolm Little lives in Lansing, Michigan, during the Depression. His father and mother were both strong advocates for the rights of Blacks, and told their many children they could accomplish anything they set their minds to. Marcus Garvey’s mantra, “Up, you mighty race,” illuminated their childhood. But all is not right in the 1930s Michigan, and as Malcolm grows up he realizes that his father’s preaching earn nothing but scorn and insults from the white folks that surround them.

His father has an “accident” when Malcolm is six, and his mother is hard pressed to help the family survive. She manages to hang on for seven long years before the government finally institutionalizes her and places all of the children in foster care. Malcolm is now on his own, and loses the little direction he had from his father. His English teacher in high school asks him what he wants to be, and when he replies he wants to become a lawyer the teacher laughs. A black man can’t be a lawyer!

Rudderless and lost, Malcolm is given the opportunity to move to Boston with his half-sister. There he discovers a whole new world where Blacks live together in their own neighborhoods, where they can dance and party away. Malcolm quickly succumbs to the night life and the easy money hustling various schemes.

As he sinks further in a life of crime, easy women, and easy money, Malcolm finds himself searching for more. It’s only when he finally gets arrested and gets sent to prison that Malcolm discovers the power of Garvey’s quote. He converts to Islam, changes his name to Malcolm X to reject the patronyme given to him by slavers, and joins the Nation of Islam.

Drawn from real events and written in part by his daughter, the story of Malcolm X’s youth is fascinating and demonstrates his growth from a petty and narcissistic criminal to a religious and political leader who was part of the Civil Rights movement. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy discovering an individual whose myth has now overwhelmed his real life.