Shortlist, Goddard Riverside/CBC Young People's Book Prize for Social
Justice
This critical civil rights book for middle-graders examines the
little-known Tennessee's Fayette County Tent City Movement in the late
1950s and reveals what is possible when people unite and fight for the
right to vote. Powerfully conveyed through interconnected stories and
told through the eyes of a child, this book combines poetry, prose, and
stunning illustrations to shine light on this forgotten history.
The late 1950s was a turbulent time in Fayette County, Tennessee. Black
and White children went to different schools. Jim Crow signs hung high.
And while Black hands in Fayette were free to work in the nearby fields
as sharecroppers, the same Black hands were barred from casting ballots
in public elections.
If they dared to vote, they faced threats of violence by the local Ku
Klux Klan or White citizens. It wasn't until Black landowners organized
registration drives to help Black citizens vote did change begin--but
not without White farmers' attempts to prevent it. They violently
evicted Black sharecroppers off their land, leaving families stranded
and forced to live in tents. White shopkeepers blacklisted these
families, refusing to sell them groceries, clothes, and other
necessities.
But the voiceless did finally speak, culminating in the Voting Rights
Act of 1965, which legally ended voter discrimination.
Perfect for young readers, teachers/librarians, and parents interested
in books for kids with themes of:
Activism
Social justice
Civil rights
Black history
