Evicted!: The Struggle for the Right to Vote

by Alice Faye Duncan Narrated by Kim Staunton

Overview

Black hands in Fayette County, Tennessee, were free to pick cotton and corn but were barred from casting ballots. A whirlwind of change blew through the county when Black landowners like John McFerren and Harpman Jameson organized
registration drives to help Black citizens vote-but not without violent attempts to stop it. White farmers evicted Black sharecroppers off their land, leaving families stranded and forced to live in tents. White shopkeepers also refused to sell to them.

But the voiceless did finally speak. In 1965 the Voting Rights Act legally ended voter discrimination. Alice Faye Duncan's powerful words and Charly Palmer's bold art not only capture the Tent City struggle but also the hope, determination, and unwavering courage of everyday people.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature (CSMCL) Best Book of 2022
Bank Street Best Book of the Year
International Literacy Association’s Literacy and Social Responsibility Special Interest Group Social Justice Literature Award

"Using a combination of lyrical prose and free verse, Duncan documents the Tent City movement of Fayette County, Tennessee, in the early 1960s. Palmer's vibrantly hued acrylic paintings make effective use of patterns and textures. Appended with an epilogue (noting the 2013 weakening of the Voting Rights Act), time line, resources, and bibliography, this is an important contribution to civil rights collections." —Booklist

"In this absorbing collection of profiles...Duncan illuminates the grassroots Fayette County Tent City Movement in late-1950s Tennessee, which opposed racial terror aimed at Black voters and eventually helped lead to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Duncan follows the Black activists in quietly compelling prose...[and] Palmer’s abstract spreads, rendered in surreal-colored acrylic, offer mesmerizing visual accompaniment. An empathic tribute that will resonate amid present-day conversations about voter suppression." —Publishers Weekly

"A series of interconnected stories about real-life people illuminates the history of Tennessee’s Fayette County Tent City Movement...The historical account is told from the perspective of young James Junior (now a 72-year-old grandfather) and is made personal through the testimonies of individuals who were crucial to the movement, those who are remembered by the community, and those who do the remembering...Palmer’s painterly, evocative paintings effectively capture the era, are suffused with emotional honesty, and bring reverence to the heavy subject matter." —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] historical look back to Fayette County, Tennessee, and the struggles of Black citizens who fought to gain the right to vote...Their stories are told through their voices, and their passion is clearly conveyed through the ardent narrative...The language is straightforward, and the voices are strong and vibrant. Full-color illustrations fill the pages with vibrant paintings that seem to come alive. While the illustrations add another layer of depth  to the text, they are also moving in their own right. A timeline of the development of Fayette County, along with historical photographs, is also included, adding another layer of information for readers. The Fayette movement is presented in a compelling way, and readers will enjoy hearing and learning about this tumultuous period of history... a vivid picture book." —School Library Connection

"Evicted! is an important addition to all collections, a must read for middle and high school readers." —The Nonfiction Detectives

Kirkus Reviews

2021-12-03
A series of interconnected stories about real-life people illuminates the history of Tennessee’s Fayette County Tent City Movement.

The book opens with a preface, an illustrated dramatis personae showing a large cast of characters spanning two generations, a map of Fayette County, and a Prologue to Freedom that introduces the protagonist, James Junior. When a Black man stands trial for murder in 1958, the community is sobered to realize that they cannot serve as jurors because they aren’t registered voters. Two farmers lead a voter registration and mobilization drive, and as the movement grows, the community suffers repercussions, from ethnic intimidation to consumer blacklisting to eviction. A landowning Black citizen hosts evicted families in tents, and this “Tent City” makes the national news, drawing support from Black and White civil rights advocates around the country. An intense, prolonged, and often violent struggle ensues, ultimately ushering in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which legally prohibited race-based voter discrimination. The historical account is told from the perspective of young James Junior (now a 72-year-old grandfather) and is made personal through the testimonies of individuals who were crucial to the movement, those who are remembered by the community, and those who do the remembering. The episodic narrative, which oscillates between lyrical passages and straightforward prose, is sometimes too overloaded with information considering the book’s young audience. Palmer’s painterly, evocative paintings effectively capture the era, are suffused with emotional honesty, and bring reverence to the heavy subject matter.

Not an easy read but an important one. (epilogue, timeline, photographs, resource guide, bibliography, author's note, illustrator's note) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175492034
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	04/19/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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