A book that appeals to anyone curious about the civil rights movement in the 1960′s.
As the mother of a bi-racial, interfaith child, I have my work cut out for me in the teach-your-kid-their-family-heritage department. And while its tempting to gloss over it altogether (Slavery! The holocaust!), ignorance is the one sure fire way to guarantee that the unsavory aspects of history keep repeating themselves.
So we’ve chosen to keep our eyes open and, as a family, try to understand what has gone on before us as a way to feel empowered about our ability to improve our future. And when I encounter a great book on one of these topics, I grab it, because there is no better way to illustrate a point than through the power of a good story.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney tells the story of the 1960 sit-ins protesting segregation at the Woolworth lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina. The story is powerful, without feeling oppressive. It’s told simply, but without being dumbed down (which is what drives me crazy about so many children’s books out there. The illustrations (by husband Brian Pinkney) are bold, exuberant and colorful, perfectly representing the spirit of these brave civil rights protestors.
The core message is big and bold, so even the beginning reader can digest it by herself, making it all the more powerful.
There is also, if you really want to get into it, a timeline chronicling the major events of the entire Civil Rights Movement (see below) which helps put this particular event into context.
Here’s the timeline.
In the end, Pinkney distills the whole struggle for integration into a simple recipe:
1. Start with love.
2. Add conviction.
3. Season with hope.
4. Extra faith to flavor.
5. Mix black people with white people.
6. Let unity stand.
7. Sprinkle in dignity.
8. Fold in change.
8. Bake until golden.
10. Serve immediately.
It’s a recipe we should all learn by heart and pass along to everyone we know.
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