Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

by Russell Freedman

Overview

A riveting account of the civil rights boycott that changed history by the foremost author of history for young people.

Now a classic, Freedman’s book tells the dramatic stories of the heroes who stood up against segregation and Jim Crow laws in 1950s Alabama.  Full of eyewitness reports, iconic photographs from the era, and crucial primary sources, this work brings history to life for modern readers.

This engaging look at one of the best-known events of the American Civil Rights Movement feels immediate and relevant, reminding readers that the Boycott is not distant history, but one step in a fight for equality that continues today.

Freedman focuses not only on well-known figures like Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., but on the numerous people who contributed by organizing carpools, joining protests, supporting legal defense efforts, and more.  He showcases an often-overlooked side of activism and protest— the importance of cooperation and engagement, and the ways in which ordinary people can stand up for their beliefs and bring about meaningful change in the world around them.

Freedom Walkers has long been a library and classroom staple, but as interest in the history of protest and the Civil Rights Movement grows, it’s a perfect introduction for anyone looking to learn more about the past— and an inspiration to take action and shape the future.

Recipient of an Orbis Pictus Honor, the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and the Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book Award, Freedom Walkers received five starred reviews. A map, source notes, full bibliography, and other backmatter is included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823421954
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/28/2009
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	69,364
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	1110L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Russell Freedman (1929-2018) transformed non-fiction for children through his insightful narrative, comprehensive research, careful selection of photographs, and deep understanding of his subject matter. He was well known for his riveting biographies and masterful accounts of the history of the United States. One of the most honored writers for children, his many awards include the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award and a National Humanities Medal. Major works include Freedom Walkers, Lincoln: A Photobiography, Because They Marched, The Wright Brothers: How They Invented The Airplane. 

Table of Contents

Map Montgomery, Alabama, 1955-1956 xi

Introduction: Why They Walked 1

1 Jo Ann Robinson 4

2 Claudette Colvin 14

3 Rosa Parks 23

4 Martin Luther King, Jr. 36

5 Boycott Heroes 49

6 Proud to be Arrested 59

7 Walking to Victory 75

8 The Children Coming On… 89

Chapter Notes 100

Selected Bibliography 108

Acknowledgments 111

Index 112

Editorial Reviews

★ "A dramatic overview of how the 381-day resistance to segregated buses spearheaded the civil rights movement...Eloquent."—Booklist, Starred Review

★ "Freedman does a masterful job."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "Outstanding History...Exemplary."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "Expertly paced text, balanced but impassioned...Such is the immediacy of Freedman's telling that by the time Martin Luther King Jr. steps onboard and takes 'a seat at the front of the bus,' readers will feel like cheering, as if they're witnessing the historic moment themselves."—The Horn Book, Starred Review

From the Publisher

Gr 4-6-Freedman begins this outstanding history by reminding his audience that the injustices of racial segregation did not happen that long ago in the United States. Throughout the book, he gives accounts of how much coordination and sacrifice went into conducting the Montgomery Bus Boycott-far more than students are likely to imagine from the usual popular and oversimplified versions offered in textbooks and on television. There is a refreshing emphasis on depictions of regular people and forgotten local crusaders working together to make the boycott possible and triumphant, from inspiring descriptions of drivers getting up at dawn to take others to work to accounts of well-known civil-rights lawyers working to find the right plaintiff to challenge unjust laws. Freedman's prose style pulls readers into the narrative, integrating the actual recorded words and deeds of the people to tell the story. The high-quality, black-and-white photographs range from everyday scenes of African-American boycotters meeting, waiting for carpools, and protesting to representations of more famous figures, such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc. Extensive chapter notes, an annotated selected bibliography, and a thorough index round out the exemplary presentation. Pair this volume with Ann Bausum's Freedom Riders (National Geographic) and Nikki Giovanni's Rosa (Holt, both 2005) for a powerful introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.-Michael Santangelo, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Beginning with the story of a college professor's frightening experience on a Montgomery bus, Freedman brings this oft-told story to an audience ready to move beyond the popular legend. Civil-rights activist E.D. Nixon was looking for the best person to be the standard-bearer in a constitutional challenge to the segregated bus system of Montgomery, Ala. Though several others had been confronted or arrested on the buses, Rosa Parks was the perfect choice. Intelligent and quiet, the 42-year-old Parks had been involved in civil-rights work for years. Her arrest was used to launch the modern Civil Rights movement, resulting in a successful strike of 381 days and the eventual U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Alabama's bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. Freedman does a masterful job of making a complex point in history-with so many key players and pivotal events-accessible and interesting to a young audience. The focus is on everyday people acting on behalf of what was right, even before they knew it would become a movement, people who became "actors in an historical drama that changed a nation." Clear prose, well-chosen photographs and superb source notes and bibliography make this an essential source on the topic. (map, acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews