Aimee VanMiddlesworth
Civil Rights Annotated Bibliography
April 12, 2012
Topic: The Civil Rights Movement
Introduction
The civil rights movement that spanned the years following the Brown v. Board of
Education decision of 1954 through the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
marked a critical time in history that accomplished far more than the elimination of
racial barriers; it led to the overwhelming transformation of American social,
cultural, and political life. Changes to the citizenship rights of blacks along with a
redefinition of the role of the government and courts in protecting these rights,
continue to support the human rights of all Americans, regardless of their skin color.
The civil rights movement is a significant time in American history that needs to be
taught in the elementary classroom. This annotated bibliography is designed to
provide the elementary classroom teacher with resources, such as books, videos and
websites to help teach about the civil rights movement. The resources in this
bibliography range from secondary sources, such as children’s books and teacher
resource books to primary sources that include websites and videos. It will give
students a variety of information on the background of the civil rights movement, as
well as influential people and major events that took place during the Civil Rights
Movement.
Annotated Bibliography on the Civil Rights Movement
Children’s Books (Secondary Sources)
Adler, David A. A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Holiday House,
1990.
A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr is a picture book for
kindergarten through second grade students. It is an easy to
read biography about Martin Luther King, Jr. with beautifully
illustrated pictures. It tell of Kings life as a young boy, his
journey through the civil rights movement, family life and his
death in 1968. Adler does a nice job helping young children
examine Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life.
Bridges, Ruby. Through My Eyes. New York: Scholastic Press, 1999.
Through My Eyes is a picture book for children ages nine and up.
It is an autobiography Bridges wrote about becoming the first
black student ever at the all-white William Frantz Public School in
New Orleans, Louisiana on November 14, 1960. This memior is
full of photographs of Ruby’s experience.
Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 2009.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice is a children’s book
about an African American teenager who is fed up with
injustice. On March 2, 1955, nine months prior to the Rosa
Parks bus incident, 15 year old Claudette Colvin refused to
give up her bus seat to a white woman on a segregated bus.
Unfortunately she was not celebrated the way Rosa Parks
would be. This book helps celebrated the actions of this
unkown civil rights figure.
Malaspina, Ann. Finding Lincoln. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 2009.
Finding Lincoln is a picture book for first grade through
third grade students. Louis needs to find information for
an essay on Abraham Lincoln. In 1951 African Americans
were not permitted to use the public libraries in Alabama.
Louis decides to go to the library any way. Most at the
library shun him other than a young librarian. The book
also includes a note on the history of racial segregation in
public libraries.
McWhorter, Diane. A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954-196.
New York: Scholastic Nonfiction, 2004.
A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from
1954-1968 is a picture book for children ages nine and up.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Diane McWhorter wrote the
book. The focus of the book is monumental events that
occurred between 1954 and 1968. Some events included
during this time were Brown versus the Board of
Education and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
McWhorter also discusses her feelings as a white child in
the South during this time. The book is full of historical information and
photographs.
Morrison, Toni. Remember: The Journey to School Integration. New York: Houghton
Mifflin Books for Children, 2004.
Remember: The Journey to School Integration is a book
written for children in grades 3rd through 8th. It has a blend of
photographs, historical background and fictional narrative of
African American students who made the journey to school
integration. The book contains mostly full-page, black-andwhite photographs make up the bulk of the book. Through
these photographs, Morrison imagines the thoughts and
feelings of some of the people in the pictures.
Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down. New York:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010.
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood is a picture book for upper
elementary school students. It is based on the historic sit-in
that took place on February 1, 1960. Four college students
who tried to integrate a Woolworth’s lunch counter in
Greensboro, North Carolina. The illustrations in the book
depict the scenes of the sit-in with watercolor with thick ink
lines.
Rappaport, Doreen. Martin’s Big Words. New York: Hyperion Books CH, 2007.
Martin’s Big Words is a picture book for children ages five
and up. This is a picture book biography on the life of
Martin Luther King, Jr. Rappaport weaves the immortal
words of Dr. King into a captivating narrative to tell the
story of his life. Illustrations in the book are stunning and
life-like.
Rappaport, Doreen. The School is not White: A True Story of the Civil Rights
Movement. New York: Jump At The Sun, 2005.
The School is not White: A True Story of the Civil Rights
Movement is a picture book for children ages seven and
up. The setting takes place in Drew, Mississippi, in 1965.
In Drew schools were “all black” and “all white”. The
black schools lacked the resources and support given to
white schools. The Carters had had enough of the
inequality. They sent their children to “all white” schools
even though they faced prejudice, teasing and death threats.
Reynolds, Aaron. Back of the Bus. New York: Philomel, 2010.
Back of the Bus is a picture book for children ages six and
up. It tells a fictional the story of a black boy and his
mama who witness Rosa Park’s arrest. They dismiss the
incident as something they have seen many times before,
assuming that “Tomorrow all this’ll be forgot”. They soon
learn they have witnessed history in the making.
Ringgold, Faith. If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks. New York: Aladdin,
2003.
If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks is a picture
book for children ages five and up. In this book, a
schoolgirl named Marcie learns the story of Rosa Parks on
a magical bus ride. She finds out why Rosa Parks is the
mother of the mother of the civil rights movement
because she refused to give up her seat to a white man. At
the end of the story, Marcie meets Rosa Parks herself.
Robinson, Sharon. Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America. New
York: Scholastic, 2004.
Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America
this non fiction book is for children ages nine and up. Sharon
Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s only daughter, gives an intimate
portrait of her father and the obstacales that he faced. In the
book readers will see never-before-published letters by Jackie
Robinson, as well as photographs from the Robinson family
archives.
Russell Freedman. Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. New
York: Holiday House, 2008.
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
is a book for children in grades fourth through sixth. It a nonfiction account of the coordination and sacrifice that went
into conducting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. There is an
emphasis on the depictions of regular people and forgotten
local crusaders working to make the boycott possible.
Throughout the book are black-and-white photographs of
famous African American figures, scenes of boycotts and
protesters.
Thomas, Joyce Carol. Linda Brown, You are not Alone. New York: Hyperion, 2003.
Linda Brown, You are not Alone is a book reflecting on the impact
of Brown vs. Board of Education for grades six and up. It is a
collection of poems, personal stories and essays from ten
accomplished writers for children. Included authors are Michael
Cart, Jean Craighead George, Eloise Greenfield, Lois Lowry,
Katherine Paterson, Ishmael Reed, Jerry Spinelli, Quincy Troupe,
Joyce Carol Thomas, and Leona Nicholas Welch. All were young
people at the time of the Supreme Court decision.
Turner, Glennette Tilley. Take a Walk in Their Shoes. New York: Puffin, 1992.
Take a Walk in Their Shoes
Weatherford, Carole Boston. Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. New
York: Puffin, 2007.
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins
Wiles, Deborah. Freedom Summer. New York: Aladdin, 2005.
Freedom Summer
Wilson, Camilla. Rosa Parks Biography . New York: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2001.
Rosa Parks Biography
Teacher Reference Books (Primary and Secondary Sources)
Baicker, Karen. Civil Rights: Primary Sources Teaching Kit. New York: Scholastic,
2003.
Civil Rights: Primary Sources Teaching Kit is a teacher’s
resource that helps students follow the civil rights
movement from Abraham Lincoln’s presidency up to the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The 48 page
teaching kit includes documents, posters, speeches, a
timeline and reproducible primary sources that allow
students analyze and evaluate historical documents.
Ottaino, Mela. Read-Aloud Plays: Civil Rights. . New York: Scholastic, 2003.
Turk, Mary. The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with 21 Activities. Chicago:
Chicago Review Press, 2000.
The Civil Rights Movement for Kids: A History with
21 Activities is a teacher’s resource with 21 activities
civil rights movement activities to do with children.
The activities range from plays and role-playing to
cooking to crafts. The activities are in chronological
order from the 1950s through the late 1960s. The
book begins with a nice timeline of the civil rights
movement with several prominent photographs.
Throughout the book the author has also placed photographs from the time period
that depict some of the major events that took place during the movement. Each
photograph includes a caption that explains the photo.
Websites (Primary and Secondary Sources)
Library of Congress. Voices of Civil Rights. July 23, 2010
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civilrights/civilrights-home.html (Accessed April 2,
2012)
The Library of Congress website presents Voices of Civil Rights. This exhibition
documents events during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It draws
from the thousands of personal stories, oral histories, and photographs collected by
the "Voices of Civil Rights" project. Though the physical exhibit ended in 2005,
students can click the online exhibition link to read about people and events of the
Civil Rights Movement.
Tovares, Joseph, WayBack - Stand Up For Your Rights.
http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/index.html (Accessed April 2, 2012)
PBS Kids presents WayBack- Stand Up For Your Rights. This website is an
interactive website for students to explore people, events and issues of the Civil
Rights Movement through Buzz- an interview exclusive, Snapshot- react to the
photo, Game Space- test your civil rights brainpower and Who’s Who- people to
know.
DVDs and Video Clips
Disney’s Ruby Bridges. DVD. Directed by Euzhan Palcy. California: Walt Disney
Home Video, 2004.
Disney’s Ruby Bridges is a DVD about the life of Ruby Bridges, a
six year old chosen to be the first African American to integrate
an all white elementary school in New Orleans. The DVD is 90
minutes in length. “An exhilarating tale!” –Los Angeles Times and
“Exceptionally rewarding!” –The Boston Globe.
Understanding the Civil Rights Movement. DVD. Huntsville, TX: Educational Video
Network, Inc. 2004.
Understanding the Civil Rights Movement is a DVD that tells
about the chain of events that led to the Civil Rights Movement of
the 1960s. It illustrates how African Americans struggled to
overcome the constraints of a segregated society. The DVD
presents the events in chronological order and is 46 minutes in
length. Understanding the Civil Rights Movement won the
Videographer’s “Award of Excellence.
Dr. Marting Luther King "I Have A Dream" Speech. (August 28, 1963). Video Clip.
Accessed April 2, 2012.
YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_YBplucfuk
This video is a 17 minute and 49 second video of Martin Luther King Jr.’s
August 28, 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. Students will be taken back to the day
that King made this famous speech and hear the words that made him so famous.
The video is black and white and was taped in Washington D.C. at the March on
Washington.
Conclusion