The Port Chicago 50

Steve Sheinkin's newest book focuses on civil rights and the military.  During WWII, African American men were actively recruited by several branches of he military, but men who had hoped to defend their country in battle were soon disappointed.  And any hope that military service would further the cause of civil rights and put an end to segregation and discrimination was soon extinguished.

Barracks and training facilities were segregated.  Black and white soldiers weren't even allowed to eat together.  Often black soldiers had to wait until white soldiers had finished eating and take the leftovers.  To make matters worse, black soldiers were not assigned to combat positions.  Instead they were relegated to cleaning, cooking, or in the case of the Port Chicago 50, loading ammunition onto ships to be sent to the battle front.

Port Chicago was a naval base where many black sailors were stationed to handle ammunition.  The work was physically challenging and often dangerous.  To make matters worse, the men received almost no training on how to handle the dangerous explosives.  Plus, the officers would often ride the men to work faster because they placed bets on whose unit could work faster.

It's not a surprise that disaster finally struck, and many men were killed, injured, or left traumatized.  Shortly after the disaster that killed many of their friends and fellow sailors, 250 men refused to return to work loading ammunition because they feared for their safety.  Nothing had changed at Port Chicago, and the men were tired of risking their lives in unnecessarily dangerous conditions.  Add in the fact that only black sailors were assigned to the task, and the situation becomes a clear case of racism.

Fifty of the men were eventually charged with mutiny.  They faced a trial and possible imprisonment or death.  Add in a young Thurgood Marshall who saw this as a clear case of discrimination, and you have a fascinating court room drama about the end of segregation in the military.

Pair this book with Courage Has No Color by Tanya Lee Stone for an in depth examination of segregation in the military.  I highly recommend both titles!

Brown Girl Dreaming

What is not to love about Jacqueline Woodson's memoir in verse?  This is a beautiful and eloquent book about Woodson's childhood and the people and places that shaped it.

Though her early childhood is spent in Ohio, Woodson's soul is already filled with the stories and people of South Carolina.  Even after the family moves to New York. Greenville, South Carolina, is an anchor.

This book is an exploration of place, people, and what it means to become yourself.  I absolutely loved it, and you will, too!

Watch the video below to hear the author reading from the book.

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers

 Tanya Lee Stone's new book is the true story of America's first black paratroopers and an important step in the process of integrating our armed forces.

During WWII African American soldiers where not allowed to have the same positions as white soldiers.  They were mostly relegated to service positions which was frustrating because they wanted to do their part in the war just like anyone else.

Sgt. Walter Morris soon noticed that his African American soldiers where suffering under the strain of boring work as guards at Fort Benning, so he can up with a plan.  He would wait until all the white trainees had left for the day, and then have his soldiers go through the same training.  Even though they had no hope this practice would lead to promotion, this active training definitely improved morale.

It wasn't long until someone noticed, and Sgt. Morris's soldiers soon became the first official black paratrooper trainees.  The training was difficult, and even after they had proved themselves time and again, these soldiers where faced with hate and racism in the army and out of it.

This is a great book about a time when our nation was struggling to find its way.  We were fighting hatred and discrimination in Europe, but many people were blind to the racism in our own backyard.  You'll enjoy this book filled with photographs and personal stories from some of the original Nickles.

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano

It's 1969 in New York's El Barrio where the residents are mostly Puerto Rican, and Rosa Serrano has decided that if there's one more thing El Barrio doesn't need, it's one more Rosa.  That's why she decided to change her name to Evelyn on her fourteenth birthday.  That's not the only thing she wants to change.  She's always worked in the bodega with her mother and step father, but now she wants in a different store, one that is a little less Puerto Rican.

Evelyn hates the way her mother always uses a "beggy" tone and decorated the house with plastic roses and plastic slip covers on the furniture, as if a few plastic roses could make the apartment look better.

That summer of 1969 is also the summer Evelyn will meet her abuela for the first time.  Where Mami is all rounded shoulders and plain dresses, Abuela is died orange hair and crazy outfits.  Soon she takes over the whole apartment with clothes, shoes, makeup, and her loud presence.

As these three generations of women frustrate each other, there is also change coming to El Barrio.  Who are these college kids who show up and start cleaning the streets and asking for social programs?  Is Mami right; are these outsiders just stirring up trouble?  Or should Evelyn listen to Abuela and join the movement?

Sonia Manzano's new book is wonderful story about the conflicts between generations and learning to accept people for who they are, but it also the story of the poor immigrants of El Barrio and the beginnings of the civil rights movements for Latino communities.

On a side note, after finishing the book I read the author bio, and discovered that Sonia Manzano played Maria on Sesame Street!  What a wonderful surprise for me to find that someone who played a role in my childhood can now play a role in my professional career and in our library!

Glory Be

The summer of 1964 in Hanging Moss, MS, is set to be the same as ever for Glory:  hot.  She's looking forward to spending her days in the community pool and the library, but before she can even plan her July 4th birthday celebration, the pool is inexplicably closed.  The sign on the gate says the pool is closed for repairs, but Glory doesn't believe it.

Suddenly, she is seeing Hanging Moss in a new way.  There's a new girl in town visiting from Ohio who is challenging Glory's world and revealing her best friend in a new light.  Laura doesn't understand why water fountains and restrooms should be segregated, let alone swimming pools, and Glory is starting to question things she's never even considered.

Meanwhile, Frankie, her longtime best friend, seems to be more willing to listen to his hateful and mean-spirited older brother and father everyday.

She's also got her older sister, Jesslyn, to deal with.  Glory and Jesslyn used to be close, but now Jesslyn cares more about her pep squad friends and her lipstick than she does about her sister.

With everything that's happening, Glory has a lot to figure out.  Luckily she has help from her housekeeper Emma and an open-minded librarian.

Read Augusta Scattergood's debut novel about a time of change in the American South.

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

In this book about the Civil Rights Movement, Cynthia Levinson uses the stories of four young people who participated in the protests of 1963 to tell the story.

Audrey Hendricks was one of the youngest protestors at just nine years old, but that didn't stop her from volunteering to be arrested in support of the Civil Rights Movement.

James Stewart's family was one of the wealthiest black families in Birmingham, and his parents worried that his participation would ruin this bright student's future.

Wash Booker had never even considered getting involved with the movement.  He rarely even went to school, choosing instead to spend his days roaming the countryside, but like the others, he would eventually feel drawn to participate.

Arnetta Streeter participated in the movement against her parents' protests.  She even formed her own student organization and continued showing up for meetings and marches until she was finally arrested.

How did the situation in Birmingham get so bad that children felt compelled to get themselves arrested?  This book follows the story of segregation and racism in Birmingham during a pivotal year in the movement.  You'll need to be patient as you read because the author has to explain the events that led up to the children's march and the key players, but you will be rewarded.  This book opened my eyes to a part of the Civil Rights Movement I knew little about. 

The Lions of Little Rock

Marlee is afraid of everything from the high diving board at the pool to talking to kids at school, but this year will be different.  To start, all the high schools in Little Rock are closed because people don't want to integrate, so Marlee's older sister isn't even going to school.

The junior highs aren't trying to integrate yet, so Marlee is back at school going through her days in silence until Liz shows up.  For some reason Liz latches onto Marlee, and Marlee eventually realizes that Liz could be a real friend.  As their friendship grows, a revelation about Liz threatens to tear them apart forever.

Liz is "passing."  That means she is a black person pretending to be white, so she can get a better education.  People are already upset about integration, and this just makes things worse.  Marlee knows she should leave Liz alone, that it would be better for both of them, but she's never had a friend she could actually talk to before.

Can Marlee find her voice when it really counts?

I loved this book!  It's great historical fiction, and a great book about friendship and bravery.  It's a powerful reminder of the evils of racism and the beauty of friendship.  It is a reminder that sometimes the true heroes are ordinary people who decide to stop ignoring injustice and take a stand in their own neighborhoods.  Be sure to read author Kristin Levine's note at the end of the book to find out about her inspiration for the story!

With the Might of Angels

There are three things Dawnie Rae Johnson really loves:  her pogo stick, baseball, and school.  Well, she loves learning and writing and the people at her school, but she doesn't love the school itself.  Mary McLeod Bethune is falling apart, the books are old and tattered, and even the pencils are beaten and eraserless, but change is coming.

Dawnie's father gave her an article from the New York Times about school integration to paste into her diary.  This diary will follow all the changes in Dawnie's life from the end of her 6th grade year through her first year at Prettyman Coburn, the white school in Hadley, Virginia.

People are excited about integration, but not everyone thinks it's such a great idea.  In fact, Dawnie is the only African American at her new school.  At first, that fact doesn't matter much because Dawnie has big dreams to become a doctor, and she knows she needs the better materials and supplies she will get at Prettyman, but every day is a new challenge for Dawnie, her family, and the rest of the community.  Prettyman may be beautiful and well supplied with learning materials, but Dawnie will struggle to find support there.  The Johnsons will face threats and intimidation on all sides, but they will also find strength and support when they most need it.  

Based on accounts of real students who bravely integrated all white schools and informed by Andrea Davis Pinkney's, the author's, own experiences as the only African American at her school as a child, With the Might of Angels is a portrait of a girl who learns that she will have to rely on her own determination to achieve her dreams.