From: Ellen Levine <ellenl>
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 14:15:32 -0500

i've been reading the ccbc listings for months now and have been fascinated by most of the discussions. i don't feel particularly comfortable talking about a book of mine, but in light of the recent discussions, i thought you might be interested in "Freedom's Children".
(putnam did the hardcover and avon the paperback.) it's the stories
(oral histories) of 30 young southern black kids who didn't just live through the civil rights movement, but were involved. i met and interviewed, for example, the teenager who "did it" before rosa parks, and indeed whose name was on the leaflet distributed after rosa parks's arrest (rosa herself wasn't mentioned) and whose name is on the supreme court case that affirmed the lower court ruling that bus segregation in montgomery was unconstitutional. another young girl - third grader youngest in her group who was arrested in birmingham for marching
(without her parents) out of her church, singing "we shall overcome". these young peoples' stories are very powerful as well as instructive. they seem to me to be an extraordinary lesson in how political movements actually happen, and a reminder that we unknowns can make a difference. the thousands of young people, really the foot soldiers of the movement, who protested in the south changed not only their world, but ours as well, and kids as well as adults today should know their stories. anyway, thanks for all your postings. ellen levine ellenl at sprintmail.com
Received on Sun 14 Mar 1999 01:15:32 PM CST