We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March

by Cynthia Levinson

Overview

The inspiring story of the 1963 Birmingham Children's March as seen through the eyes of four young people at the center of the action.

The 1963 Birmingham Children's March was a turning point in American civil rights history. Black Americans had had enough of segregation and police brutality, but with their lives and jobs at stake, most adults were hesitant to protest the city's racist culture. So the fight for civil rights lay in the hands of children like Audrey Hendricks, Wash Booker, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter.

We've Got a Job tells the little-known story of the four thousand Black elementary, middle, and high school students who answered Dr. Martin Luther King's call to "fill the jails." Between May 2 and May 11, 1963, these young people voluntarily went to jail, drawing national attention to the cause, helping bring about the repeal of segregation laws, and inspiring thousands of other young people to demand their rights.

Drawing on her extensive research and in-depth interviews with participants, award-winning author Cynthia Levinson recreates the events of the Birmingham Children's March from a new and very personal perspective. Archival photography and informational sidebars throughout. Back matter includes an afterword, author's note, timeline, map, and bibliography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561458448
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/03/2015
Pages:	180
Sales rank:	673,371
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	10 - 18 Years

About the Author

A former teacher and educational policy consultant and researcher, Cynthia Levinson is the author of numerous award-winning nonfiction books about social justice for young readers,. She holds degrees from Wellesley College and Harvard University and also attended the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. She divides her time between Austin, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

…[a] riveting, significant work of nonfiction.
—The New York Times Book Review

Pamela Paul

This chronicle of a pivotal chapter of the civil rights movement weaves together the stories of four black children in Birmingham, Ala., who were among some 4,000 who boycotted school to participate in a march to protest segregation. Before recounting that event, during which almost 2,500 young people were arrested and jailed, first-time author Levinson opens with intimate profiles of the four spotlighted children (drawn from interviews she conducted with each of them), along with descriptions of Birmingham’s racist laws, corrupt politicians, antiblack sentiment—and activists’ efforts to fight all of the above. Readers also get an up-close view of such leaders as Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights; Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated a nonviolent response; and James Bevel, a preacher who rallied the city’s children and teens. Yet the most compelling component is Levinson’s dramatic re-creation of the courageous children’s crusade and the change it helped bring about in the face of widespread prejudice and brutality. Powerful period photos and topical sidebars heighten the story’s impact. Ages 10–up. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "This highly readable photo-essay will hold YA readers with its focus on four young people who participated in the Birmingham Children's March. . . The format will hook readers with spacious type, boxed quotes, and large black-and-white photos on almost every double-page spread, from the horrifying view of the Klan marching with children to the young protestors waiting to be arrested. A fascinating look at a rarely covered event for both curriculum and personal interest." —Booklist, Starred Review

★ "Yet the most compelling component is Levinson's dramatic recreation of the courageous children's crusade and the change it helped bring about in the face of widespread prejudice and brutality. Powerful period photos and topical sidebars heighten the story's impact." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

★ "The author takes her inspiring tale of courage in the face of both irrational racial hatred and adult foot-dragging (on both sides) through the ensuing riots and the electrifying September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. . . A moving record of young people rising at a pivotal historical moment, based on original interviews and archival research as well as published sources." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "This photo-essay stands out for its engrossing content, excellent composition, and riveting use of primary-source material. Covering the history of the Birmingham Children's March from inception to full impact, Levinson traces the stories of four young people between the ages of 9 and 15 in 1963. . . With a helpful list of abbreviations, excellent source notes, photo credits, a fine bibliography, and a comprehensive index, this a great research source, but it's also just plain thought-provoking reading about a time that was both sobering and stirring." —School Library Journal, Starred Review

From the Publisher

Levinson’s account of children’s participation in civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham in 1963 makes for fascinating listening. Narrator Ervin Ross reads in a deliberate manner that mirrors the participants’ dedication and also allows listeners to process the many names, dates, places, and facts Levinson covers. Levinson tells a larger story through the stories of children who were there, including Audrey Faye Hendricks, who was only 9 years old when she was arrested for demonstrating, and Arnetta Streeter, a teenager who protested even though her parents forbade it. Ross’s voice and these stories have the power of truth. A compelling listen affirms that children can make a difference in their communities and the world. A.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2012 - AudioFile

Levinson’s account of children’s participation in civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham in 1963 makes for fascinating listening. Narrator Ervin Ross reads in a deliberate manner that mirrors the participants’ dedication and also allows listeners to process the many names, dates, places, and facts Levinson covers. Levinson tells a larger story through the stories of children who were there, including Audrey Faye Hendricks, who was only 9 years old when she was arrested for demonstrating, and Arnetta Streeter, a teenager who protested even though her parents forbade it. Ross’s voice and these stories have the power of truth. A compelling listen affirms that children can make a difference in their communities and the world. A.F. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2012 - AudioFile

Triumph and tragedy in 1963 "Bombingham," as children and teens pick up the flagging Civil Rights movement and give it a swift kick in the pants. Levinson builds her dramatic account around the experiences of four young arrestees—including a 9-year-old, two teenage activists trained in nonviolent methods and a high-school dropout who was anything but nonviolent. She opens by mapping out the segregated society of Birmingham and the internal conflicts and low levels of adult participation that threatened to bring the planned jail-filling marches dubbed "Project C" (for "confrontation"), and by extension the entire civil-rights campaign in the South, to a standstill. Until, that is, a mass exodus from the city's black high schools (plainly motivated, at least at first, almost as much by the chance to get out of school as by any social cause) at the beginning of May put thousands of young people on the streets and in the way of police dogs, fire hoses and other abuses before a national audience. The author takes her inspiring tale of courage in the face of both irrational racial hatred and adult foot-dragging (on both sides) through the ensuing riots and the electrifying September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, then brings later lives of her central participants up to date. A moving record of young people rising at a pivotal historical moment, based on original interviews and archival research as well as published sources. (photos, timeline, endnotes, multimedia resource lists) (Nonfiction. 11-15)

Kirkus Reviews