Because They Marched The People's Campaign for Voting Rights that Changed America

by Freedman, Russell

• ISBN13: 9780823435685
• ISBN10: 0823435687
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-01-30
• Publisher: Holiday House

Summary

The struggle for voting rights was a pivotal event in the history of civil rights.

For the fiftieth anniversary of the march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman has written a riveting account of African-American struggles for the right to vote.

In the early 1960s, tensions in the segrated South intensified. Tired of reprisals for attempting to register to vote, Selma's black community began to protest. In January 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a voting rights march and was attacked by a segregationist. In February, the shooting of an unarmed demonstrator by an Alabama state trooper inspired a march from Selma to the state capital. The event got off to a horrific start on March 7 as law officers brutally attacked peaceful demonstrators. But when vivid footage and photographs of the violence was broadcast throughout the world, the incident attracted widespread outrage and spurred demonstrators to complete the march at any cost. 

Illustrated with more than forty archival photographs, this is an essential chronicle of events every American should know.

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Selection

Author Biography

Russell Freedman (1929-2018) transformed non-fiction for children through his insightful narrative, comprehensive research, careful selection of photographs, and deep understanding of his subject matter. He was well known for his riveting biographies and masterful accounts of the history of the United States. One of the most honored writers for children, his many awards include the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award and a National Humanities Medal. Major works include Freedom Walkers; Lincoln: A Photobiography; Because They Marched; The Wright Brothers: How They Invented The Airplane; Vietnam: A History of the War.