Winner of the Nautilus Book Award
Winner of the 2021 FOCAL Award
Silver Award Winner, 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards
Winner of the Book Award for Young People's Literature, 2020 Maine
Literary Awards
A Great Kid Books Best New Book
Building on the brilliance of Fred Korematsu Speaks Up, the newest
installment in the Fighting for Justice series introduces young readers
to another real-life champion for civil rights: Bridget "Biddy" Mason,
an African American philanthropist, healer, and midwife who was born
into slavery.
When Biddy Mason arrived in California, where slavery was technically
illegal, she was kept captive by her owners and forced to work without
pay. But when Biddy learned that she was going to be taken to a slave
state, she launched a plan to win her freedom. She refused to be defined
by her enslavement, and coauthors Arisa White and Laura Atkins devote
much of their narrative to Biddy Mason's later life as a business and
civic leader in the fledgling city of Los Angeles. Biddy Mason Speaks
Up is an age-appropriate yet unflinching examination of slavery,
racism, and community healing in the United States. Each chapter begins
with lyrical verse and full-color illustrations that draw readers into
the narrative, and is followed by visually engaging sections filled with
keyword definitions, historical context, timelines, and primary sources.
Throughout the book, the authors pose questions to the reader, such as
"How do you see power at work in your community?", making Biddy Mason's
story all the more relatable to the present day.
