Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round: Stories and Songs of the Civil Rights Movement

by Doreen Rappaport, Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)

Overview

A powerful trilogy concludes with a look at both famous and lesser-known forces in the ongoing struggle for civil rights.

In the summer of 1955, Moses Wright braved mortal danger to testify against three white men accused of murdering Emmett Till — a brutal event that helped to spur the American civil rights movement. Nine black teenagers in Little Rock, Arkansas, headed out to a formerly white high school, despite warnings that "blood will run in the streets." James Lawson trained activists not to fight back with fists or words, no matter how many billy clubs rained down on them. Through ten turbulent years, black southerners filled jails and public places with the songs and strength passed down from their ancestors. This final book in a trilogy about the African-American experience is a tribute to the crusaders for equality and peace in America, a crusade that continues to this day. Back matter includes important dates, an artist’s note, source notes, a bibliography, sources for further information, and an index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763638924
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/23/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

 

Editorial Reviews

A wonderful resource to enhance curriculum units on African-American history.
– School Library Journal
 
This wonderfully illustrated and well-written book should find a place on library shelves all over the country.
–Library Media Connection
 
Stunningly illustrated with Evans’s monumental oils.
–Kirkus Reviews
 
Stirring . . . features dramatic oil paintings, which show close up the courage of young people confronting hatred at sit-ins, on freedom rides, and behind bars.
–Booklist

From the Publisher

Gr 4-8-This is the concluding book in a trilogy that chronicles the black experience in America. Rappaport draws on songs, poems, memories, letters, court testimony, and first-person accounts to provide a moving portrayal of the experiences of African Americans from the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Voting Rights Act in July 1965. The book introduces little-known as well as famous figures and incidents in a way that is fresh and informative. One example is the story of Mose Wright, who testified in the Emmett Till murder case-a black man who had never spoken up against a white man, but is determined to tell the truth today. Evans's earth-toned oil paintings enhance the stories with images that are by turns poignant, sad, hurtful, resigned, determined, hopeful, and triumphant. In a concluding artist's note, Evans eloquently states: "...as you read the words and gaze at the images in this `ourstory,' put yourselves in the shoes of these people who fought and loved so hard, for they are all of us." A wonderful resource to enhance curriculum units on African-American history.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Following on the heels of No More! (2002) and Free at Last (2004) is the third in this striking trilogy documenting African-American history. Rappaport and Evans follow the pattern already established, presenting a conventional narration interwoven with present-tense accounts of individuals' experiences, songs, and an occasional poem; the whole is stunningly illustrated with Evans's monumental oils, which represent the incidents described in the text with almost iconic fervor. For all its strengths, however, this offering pales in comparison to the first two installments in the trilogy, perhaps because this era has been so relatively well-covered in other works for young people. The technique of "recreating" incidents from first-person accounts in particular has a tendency to fall flat-as these accounts are so readily available and powerful in their own right, one must question why so few activists are allowed to speak with their own voices. Rather than increasing the immediacy of the experience, as it did in the earlier volumes, it serves to distance the reader from people and events, which is a pity considering its beauty. (timeline, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews