Several of you have read books about people who have contributed to the civil rights of Americans. Some related books you might be interested in follow:
The Greatest (Walter Dean Myers) is about Muhammed Ali. I'm sure we all remember when he lit the torch in the Atlanta Olympics but what do you know about him and his contributions to civil rights for African Americans?
The Voice that Challenged a Nation (Russell Freedman) is about Marian Anderson who had one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. The problem was that she could not sing for integrated audiences and was banned from singing in Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The solution to the problem was that she would sing at the Lincoln Memorial--these events (and others that are too many to list) led to the opening of buildings to integrated audiences and to African American performers. Also read about Eleanor Roosevelt's response to the ban at Constitution Hall. All this happened not too long ago.
Young, Black, and Determined (Patricia McKissack & Fredrick McKissack) is about Lorraine Hansberry. Do you know who Lorraine Hansberry was and what she should be known for? You definitely need to read this book to learn about this fascinating African American woman.
Vision of Beauty (Kathryn Lasky) is a picturebook biography about Sarah Breedlove Walker--perhaps you know her as Madame C. J. Walker--or perhaps you have never heard of her--she was a millionaire--does that give you a clue?
Can you tell I like to read biographies? I am particularly intrigued by biographies about African Americans who were neglected in the history lessons I learned--most had made history when I was growing up, but still, they were not mentioned in our history books. This really troubles me that I know so little about American history.
I wonder who you can name off the top of your head that is/was an influential African American man or woman or child.
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6 comments:
The Voice That Challenged A Nation sounds like a book I would like to read. Since reading Kids At Work, I am now a Russell Freeman fan.
I couldn't find anything about whether Mark Podwal is Jewish or not. He's written a lot of books with Jewish themes so he may be.
Hypatia was Egyptian. I thought I put that in there. She was from the ancient city of Alexandria in Egypt. Cyril, the patriarch in 412, had her killed because he viewed her popularity as a threat and none of her contributions were recognized until recently.
In Everybody Works it was all types of work. They had mail carriers, firefighters, police officers, bus drivers, but they also had soccer players, people playing with dogs, and children doing chores around the house.
I am so glad that I read the book about York's adventures with Lewis and Clark. I have a much greater respect for York now. Before, I barely knew anything about him. He was just a name mentioned a little bit on Lewis and Clark Day at my school. I will make sure he gets more recognition next year.
I was hesitant to read When I Was A Soldier by Valerie Zenatti, but I really enjoyed it! I learned about what it was like living in Israel and a lot about her life and the 2 years she spent serving in the army. It was a different book, not what I had expected. I think thats what I liked about it so much. You said on your blog you love biographies, you should definitely read this one!
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