TITLE: Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the
1965 Selma Voting Rights March
AUTHOR: Lynda Blackmon Lowry
PUBLISHER: Dial
Books, an imprint of Penguin Group
COPYRIGHT DATE: 2015
AGE RANGE: 11-16
years (Kirkus, 2014)
LEXILE LEVEL: 780L
ACCELERATED READER:
Level: 5.1, Points: 1 (Junior Library Guild, 2017)
SUMMARY:
The Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
and others, took place in America in the 1960's. It was a time that
African-Americans protested for certain rights, namely the right to vote in
certain southern states that had withheld that right from them. Led by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the idea was to march--a non-violent form of
protest, to make their determination for these rights known. Although the
marchers were told to remain non-violent, oftentimes they had to endure racial
slurs and the violence brought upon them by onlookers of the march.
Often, the marchers were arrested.
If an adult, who was a parent, was arrested, that could become a
real problem for a family. If a mom or dad was arrested, he or she could lose
his or her job. If that happened, how would he or she support his or her
family? The Civil Rights leaders devised a plan for this: fill the
jails with children so that there would be no more room to fill them with
adults. Children and teens were willing to do this. These children
and teens were an effective part of the Civil Rights Movement. One such
child was Lynda Blackmon. This is her true story. It begins with
the sentence, "By the time I was fifteen years old, I had been in jail
nine times." (p 13)
COMMENTS:
This is the story of a young teen as remembered by a woman in
her late 60's. It was a quick and interesting read with descriptive
illustrations. Lynda recalls the tear gas and violence done to her as a
child while she marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on a day that became known
as "Bloody Sunday". She was injured on the front and back of
her head. Her injuries fueled her desire to be seen by the Governor
George Wallace, a staunch segregationist. She was the youngest marcher of
the original 300 people who marched the whole way from Selma to Montgomery,
Alabama, for voters' rights
REVIEW:
Kirkus gives this
memoir a starred review stating, “Vivid details and the immediacy of Lowery’s
voice make this a valuable primary document as well as a pleasure to read.” (Kirkus, 2014)
AWARDS:
·
A Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor Book
·
Kirkus Best Books of 2015
·
Booklist Editors’ Choice 2015
·
BCCB Blue Ribbon 2015 (Penguin Random
House, n.d.)
RELATED MATERIAL:
Weatherford,
C. B. (2015). Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil
Rights Movement. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
Through
the use of free verse poetry, the reader gets a glimpse into the world of
Fannie Lou Hamer, an African-American female from humble roots whose voice rose
up in the fight for Civil Rights, specifically voting rights, for herself and
others.
Levenson, C. (2012). We’ve got a job: the 1963
Birmingham Children's March. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers.
This book describes the role of youth during the Civil
Rights Movement. As marchers, youth were
as likely to be taken into custody as their adult counterparts.
Lewis, J. (2013). March: Book One.
Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions.
This graphic novel tells the story of the Civil Rights
marches from the point of view of John Lewis, who, as a student, worked with other
Civil Rights leaders towards a non-violent approach to equal treatment for
African-Americans.
REFERENCES
Junior Library Guild.
(2017). Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the Selma Voting Rights
March. Retrieved from
https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/books/view/9780803741232
Kirkus Review. (2014,
October 22). Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom. Retrieved from
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lynda-blackmon-lowery/turning-15-on-the-road-to-freedom/
Penguin Random House.
(n.d.). Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom. Retrieved from
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315827/turning-15-on-the-road-to-freedom-by-lynda-blackmon-lowery-illustrated-by-pj-loughran/9780803741232/
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