Frank Carlson Library

Jelks's meditations are written in the form of letter to Martin Luther King Jr. He speaks to the many public issues we presently confront in the United States: economic inequality, freedom of assembly, police brutality, ongoing social class conflicts, and geopolitics. The result is a contemporary revival of the literary tradition of meditative social analysis. These meditations on democracy provide spiritual oxygen to help readers endure the struggles...

Examines the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964, which asked both black and white volunteers to travel throughout Mississippi, registering black Mississippians to vote, establishing "Freedom Schools" for black children, and organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

"Fourteen-year-old Ayo has to decide whether to take on her mother's activist role when her mom is shot by police. As she tries to find answers, Ayo looks to the wisdom of her ancestors and her Harlem community for guidance"--

From Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech to today's discourse on social media, Americans have used their words as tools to fight for civil rights. This beneficial book introduces students to words that defined a movement and the notable leaders behind them.

Profiles the civil rights leader, discussing his career as a pastor, his fight for African American rights, and his legacy.

"The Newbery Award-winning author of The Crossover pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree"--

On point historical photographs combined with strong narration bring the saga of the Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins in the early 1960s to life. Readers will learn about the four brave college students who started it all, as well as the many who came after. These events changed the world. The photographer who took the photographs shown in this book is now in his 90s, but he agreed to an exclusive interview for this book.

This critical civil rights book for middle-graders examines the little-known Tennessee's Fayette County Tent City Movement in the late 1950s and reveals what is possible when people unite and fight for the right to vote. Powerfully conveyed through interconnected stories and told through the eyes of a child, this book combines poetry, prose, and stunning illustrations to shine light on this forgotten history.

As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to heart: He is "as good as anyone." Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood...

Discusses the events of the 4,000 African American students who marched to jail to secure their freedom in May 1963.