An introduction to one of the defining issues of our time, with a focus on the involvement of young people in the Civil Rights Movement.
Civil Rights Movement
Compiled by:
Children's Services Staff
Picture Books and Younger Elementary
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 She)
A daughter of civil rights activist Andrew Young describes her experiences of growing up in the Deep South at the height of the movement. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile Picture Books– Ej Ban)
A young boy witnesses a day when his proud, hardworking grandfather dresses in his best suit and goes to town so that he can vote for the first time. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile Picture Books – Ej Coo)
Little Mazie wants the freedom to stay up late, but her father explains what freedom really means in the story of Juneteenth, and how her ancestors celebrated their true freedom. Recommended for ages 3-6.
(Juvenile Picture Books – Ej Win)
Lillian recalls that her great-great-grandparents were sold as slaves in front of a courthouse where only rich White men were allowed to vote, then the long fight that led to her right to vote. Recommended for ages 6-9.
(Juvenile Fiction - J America Realsto Bad)
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a peaceful protest and the setting for Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Recommended for ages 6–9.
(Juvenile Picture Books – Ej Lyo)
In Jacksonville, Florida, two brothers wrote the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The song provided inspiration and solace for generations of Black families. Recommended for ages 6–9.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 Pin)
Read about the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement. Recommended for ages 6–9.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 Mar)
This history of race relations in the U.S. includes coverage of slavery, abolition, and segregation and the famous people around the world who helped promote equal rights. Recommended for ages 6–9.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 Wal)
Could the teacher and principal, Reverend F.D. Reese, convince his teachers to risk their jobs––and perhaps their lives––by organizing a march to demand their right to vote? Recommended for ages 6–9.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 782.42162 Lev)
This book explores how the song has come to represent civil rights and freedom around the world. Recommended for ages 6-9.
Older Elementary
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 Tyn)
Black Lives Matter has become one of the most significant protest movements of our time and depicts the continuing struggle of the civil rights movement. Recommended for ages 8-12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 921 Colvin Hoo)
Presents the life of the Alabama teenager who played an integral but little-known role in the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955–1956. Recommended for ages 8–12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 782.421592 Tur)
Demonstrates how different songs in history have served as a unifying voice of the people during the Civil Rights Movement, including "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and "We Shall Overcome." Recommended for ages 8-12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323. 34 Dio)
The story of Black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle. Recommended for ages 8-12+
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 975.3041 Are)
Series: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Photographs
Discusses the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Recommended for ages 8-12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 Par)
This book focuses on the children who faced terrifying violence in order to walk alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in their fight for freedom and the right to vote. Recommended for ages 8-12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 921 Bridges Bri)
Ruby Bridges recounts the story of her involvement, as a six-year-old, in the integration of her school in 1960. Recommended for ages 8-12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 323.1196 Low)
This is the story of the youngest person to complete the Selma to Montgomery March. Recommended for ages 8–12+.
(Juvenile Fiction – J Curtis)
The everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. Recommended for ages 8-12.
(Juvenile Nonfiction – J 303.61 Has)
In an age when armies are stronger than ever before––when guns seem to be everywhere––how can people confront their adversaries without resorting to violence themselves? Recommended for ages 8–12.