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Because They Marched: The People's Campaign for Voting Rights that Changed America
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
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
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
Russell Freedman
90 books132 followersRussell A. Freedman was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography.
He grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and then worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and as a publicity writer. His nonfiction books ranged in subject from the lives and behaviors of animals to people in history. Freeedman's work has earned him several awards, including a Newbery Honor each for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery in 1994 and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane in 1992, and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.
Freedman traveled extensively throughout the world to gather information and inspiration for his books. His book, Confucius: The Golden Rule was inspired by his extensive travels through Mainland China, where he visited Confucius' hometown in modern day QuFu, in the Shantung Province.
He grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and then worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and as a publicity writer. His nonfiction books ranged in subject from the lives and behaviors of animals to people in history. Freeedman's work has earned him several awards, including a Newbery Honor each for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery in 1994 and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane in 1992, and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.
Freedman traveled extensively throughout the world to gather information and inspiration for his books. His book, Confucius: The Golden Rule was inspired by his extensive travels through Mainland China, where he visited Confucius' hometown in modern day QuFu, in the Shantung Province.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 28, 2024
Well done! This is a book that is important for everyone to read to inform them or re-remind them of some of the horrors that African-Americans went through.
The one that broke my heart and just left me aghast was in order to vote they had to pass an intelligence test. One of the questions was “how many bubbles are in a bar of soap?” That is totally ridiculous and incredibly prejudice.
We need to read books like this over and over so that I like the holocaust it is never forgotten!
The one that broke my heart and just left me aghast was in order to vote they had to pass an intelligence test. One of the questions was “how many bubbles are in a bar of soap?” That is totally ridiculous and incredibly prejudice.
We need to read books like this over and over so that I like the holocaust it is never forgotten!
May 30, 2018
This audiobook, narrated by Rodney Gardiner, captures the emotions and the determination of the people who fought for Civil Rights in the 1960s.
I appreciated the Epilogue's discussion of the changes that have occurred in recent years as well as the Selected Bibliography and Index (only in the print edition) that provide additional information and resources for further study.
I followed along with hardcover edition with ISBN13 9780823429219. The narrative followed exactly and the black and white photos are so powerful - they really complement the narrative.
interesting quotes (page numbers from hardcover edition with ISBN13 9780823429219):
"A black teachers' march would have a powerful impact, Reese predicted, because 'neither the local whites nor the black population [expects] the teachers to do it." (p. 24)
"'Will you march with us?' King asked an elderly man with a cane.
'I'll walk one step, anyway,' the man replied. 'because I know for every step I'll take, you'll take two.'" (p. 60)
"When they come to me and asked me if they could use my land I felt I couldn't afford to turn them down. If the president can take a stand, I guess I can too...I don't know, I almost feel like I might live long enough to vote myself." (p. 60)
"When Barack Obama was campaigning for the presidency in 2007, he spoke at a ceremony in Selma commemorating the forty-second anniversary of the march to Montgomery. 'It is because they marched,' Obama told his audience, 'that I stand here before you today." (p. 70)
"And so the times are changing still. The right to vote continues to be challenged, and the meaning of American democracy remains a topic of debate and struggle, as it has since the nation's founding through the Civil War to Selma, and beyond." (p. 72)
I appreciated the Epilogue's discussion of the changes that have occurred in recent years as well as the Selected Bibliography and Index (only in the print edition) that provide additional information and resources for further study.
I followed along with hardcover edition with ISBN13 9780823429219. The narrative followed exactly and the black and white photos are so powerful - they really complement the narrative.
interesting quotes (page numbers from hardcover edition with ISBN13 9780823429219):
"A black teachers' march would have a powerful impact, Reese predicted, because 'neither the local whites nor the black population [expects] the teachers to do it." (p. 24)
"'Will you march with us?' King asked an elderly man with a cane.
'I'll walk one step, anyway,' the man replied. 'because I know for every step I'll take, you'll take two.'" (p. 60)
"When they come to me and asked me if they could use my land I felt I couldn't afford to turn them down. If the president can take a stand, I guess I can too...I don't know, I almost feel like I might live long enough to vote myself." (p. 60)
"When Barack Obama was campaigning for the presidency in 2007, he spoke at a ceremony in Selma commemorating the forty-second anniversary of the march to Montgomery. 'It is because they marched,' Obama told his audience, 'that I stand here before you today." (p. 70)
"And so the times are changing still. The right to vote continues to be challenged, and the meaning of American democracy remains a topic of debate and struggle, as it has since the nation's founding through the Civil War to Selma, and beyond." (p. 72)
July 26, 2014
Russell Freedman is the master of historical nonfiction, and his careful research once again brings an important era in American history to life. In the 1960's voting rights were largely denied to African Americans in many parts of the South. Despite federal legislation, local rules made registering to vote practically impossible for minorities. This is the story of the struggle for those rights in Alabama, mostly in the city of Selma. Accompanied by many well-captioned black and white photographs, Freedman clearly lays out the situation, and the risks that were taken in seeking this basic right. In fact, Freedman highlights many people whose contribution might otherwise have slipped away into the amnesia of time. Everyone's heard of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but the story behind the march from Selma to Montgomery featured many acts of bravery and selflessness. Freedman takes time to chronicle each event, and its impact on the movement, emphasizing the role that young people played. Also, one can't help noticing how media coverage played a significant role. Doubtless teens today will have trouble believing the kind of atrocities that took place during this turbulent time, but the author brings them to vivid life. At the same time, he creates a sense of hope and rejoicing in the proof that, if good people gather together, change can and, indeed, MUST happen. This book should be in every secondary school library.
December 31, 2016
I received this book as a Christmas present and started reading through it almost immediately, but I had to put it down because it made me so angry. The violence and hatred that plagued America in the 1960s is just mind-boggling. And it's equally frustrating that we continue to struggle with racism today. Many of the criticisms and arguments are achingly familiar, many of them used today and hurled at modern movements like Black Lives Matter. Sometimes I think we sanitize the civil rights movement, that we all look back with nostalgia that our country overcame. But we forget the sacrifice it required, the bravery of people who stood up and risked everything simply for the right to vote. We forget that the hatred on display in the 1960s didn't magically go away.
October 29, 2014
This book is the way history should be presented - a compelling photo-narrative of the real events of the time. With the Supreme Court's gutting of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that this book talks about, it is even more important for young people to understand how hard people had to fight to get the right to vote.
I lived through this era, but I wasn't aware of all of the things that were happening at the time. This should be required reading for American History classes. Too bad, in a way, that it is too long to be a read aloud for younger students - at least for me, as a substitute teacher who is only there for a day.
I lived through this era, but I wasn't aware of all of the things that were happening at the time. This should be required reading for American History classes. Too bad, in a way, that it is too long to be a read aloud for younger students - at least for me, as a substitute teacher who is only there for a day.
September 30, 2014
Russell Freedman gives a concise, well-written account of the events leading up to the march from Selma to Montgomery and the march itself. The many photos give a sense of how tense and dangerous the situation was and the author brings us up to date with the 2013 Supreme Court decision, undoing much of this heroic effort.
October 19, 2014
Richie’s Picks: BECAUSE THEY MARCHED: THE PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN FOR VOTING RIGHTS THAT CHANGED AMERICA by Russell Freedman, Holiday House, August 2014, 96p., ISBN: 978-0-8234-2921-9
“The potential magnitude of racially discriminatory voter disenfranchisement counseled hesitation before disturbing the District Court’s findings and final judgement...The greatest threat to public confidence in elections in this case is the prospect of enforcing a purposefully discriminatory law, one that likely imposes an unconstitutional poll tax and risks denying the right to vote to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters.”
--U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, October 18, 2014, dissenting in Veasey v. Perry, a Texas voter ID case. The seeds for Veasey were sown in 2013 when the U.S Supreme Court struck down key elements of the landmark 1965 Voting Act in a controversial 5-4 decision.
“By the middle of February [1965], nearly 3,400 demonstrators had been arrested, filling up the jails and several prison work camps in the area. Meanwhile, efforts by protest leaders to influence public opinion were beginning to pay off. A congressional delegation had traveled to Selma to investigate the mass arrests and determine if new legislation was needed to ensure voting rights. And President Lyndon B. Johnson had held a press conference to deliver a statement in support of voting rights. ‘All Americans should be indignant when one American is denied the right to vote,’ he told reporters.
‘The loss of that right undermines the freedom of every citizen.’”
-- from BECAUSE THEY MARCHED
I will spend next Saturday morning at San Francisco’s City Hall, training to supervise a voting precinct. Then, on Election Day, I will spend 16 hours serving as a poll inspector in someone’s garage, one of the many neighborhood voting places here in San Francisco.
Government affects our lives in millions of ways. Those who participate in choosing government representatives and deciding on ballot propositions have a hand in making the rules that affect all of us, so the right to vote is a big deal.
Voting began as a right that was granted only to land-owning white men. A significant part of our national history has involved those who haven’t been permitted to participate and their allies struggling against those who have sought to deny voting rights to women, black people, Latinos, and poor people,
BECAUSE THEY MARCHED is the story of the struggle that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and includes such incidents as the police terrorism at the Pettus Bridge and the march from Selma to Montgomery. We learn how, during the sixties, people like Viola Liuzzo were murdered for trying to secure voting rights for themselves and others.
Russell Freedman sets this struggle amid the larger civil rights movement by introducing many of the significant events of the movement through text and well-known images. It’s an intense story because Freedman conveys so much of this history by quoting the words of participants on both sides of the struggle.
“It is because they marched that I stand before you today.”
-- President Barack Obama in 2007 speaking in Selma at the forty-second anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery.
BECAUSE THEY MARCHED commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, showing young people the struggle of those who were denied the right to vote. Unlike some other struggles on the road to equality in America, this fight continues. The book concludes with an epilogue that summarizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby v. Holder decision which struck down key sections of the Voting Rights Act. Freedman notes:
“Immediately after the decision, some states and counties in the South announced that they would take advantage of the ruling to make legal changes in voting requirements--such as strict voter ID laws--that, critics say, would make it harder for minority voters, older people, students, legal immigrants, and the poor of all races to register and vote.”
That leads to this weekend’s news about Veasey v. Perry.
In her dissent of the 2013 Shelby decision, Justice Ginsburg likened the struggle for voting rights to the ancient Greek myth of fighting the Hydra. “Whenever one form of voting discrimination was identified and prohibited, others sprang up in its place.”
One hundred fifty years ago, former slaves were granted the right to vote through enactment of the Civil War amendments. As we see in BECAUSE THEY MARCHED, that right to vote only began to become a reality in 1965. From the perspective of the Supreme Court’s latest decision this weekend, these current and ongoing struggles for equality and voting rights make BECAUSE THEY MARCHED a powerful read and must-have resource.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
https://www.facebook.com/richie.parti...
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
“The potential magnitude of racially discriminatory voter disenfranchisement counseled hesitation before disturbing the District Court’s findings and final judgement...The greatest threat to public confidence in elections in this case is the prospect of enforcing a purposefully discriminatory law, one that likely imposes an unconstitutional poll tax and risks denying the right to vote to hundreds of thousands of eligible voters.”
--U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, October 18, 2014, dissenting in Veasey v. Perry, a Texas voter ID case. The seeds for Veasey were sown in 2013 when the U.S Supreme Court struck down key elements of the landmark 1965 Voting Act in a controversial 5-4 decision.
“By the middle of February [1965], nearly 3,400 demonstrators had been arrested, filling up the jails and several prison work camps in the area. Meanwhile, efforts by protest leaders to influence public opinion were beginning to pay off. A congressional delegation had traveled to Selma to investigate the mass arrests and determine if new legislation was needed to ensure voting rights. And President Lyndon B. Johnson had held a press conference to deliver a statement in support of voting rights. ‘All Americans should be indignant when one American is denied the right to vote,’ he told reporters.
‘The loss of that right undermines the freedom of every citizen.’”
-- from BECAUSE THEY MARCHED
I will spend next Saturday morning at San Francisco’s City Hall, training to supervise a voting precinct. Then, on Election Day, I will spend 16 hours serving as a poll inspector in someone’s garage, one of the many neighborhood voting places here in San Francisco.
Government affects our lives in millions of ways. Those who participate in choosing government representatives and deciding on ballot propositions have a hand in making the rules that affect all of us, so the right to vote is a big deal.
Voting began as a right that was granted only to land-owning white men. A significant part of our national history has involved those who haven’t been permitted to participate and their allies struggling against those who have sought to deny voting rights to women, black people, Latinos, and poor people,
BECAUSE THEY MARCHED is the story of the struggle that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and includes such incidents as the police terrorism at the Pettus Bridge and the march from Selma to Montgomery. We learn how, during the sixties, people like Viola Liuzzo were murdered for trying to secure voting rights for themselves and others.
Russell Freedman sets this struggle amid the larger civil rights movement by introducing many of the significant events of the movement through text and well-known images. It’s an intense story because Freedman conveys so much of this history by quoting the words of participants on both sides of the struggle.
“It is because they marched that I stand before you today.”
-- President Barack Obama in 2007 speaking in Selma at the forty-second anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery.
BECAUSE THEY MARCHED commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, showing young people the struggle of those who were denied the right to vote. Unlike some other struggles on the road to equality in America, this fight continues. The book concludes with an epilogue that summarizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby v. Holder decision which struck down key sections of the Voting Rights Act. Freedman notes:
“Immediately after the decision, some states and counties in the South announced that they would take advantage of the ruling to make legal changes in voting requirements--such as strict voter ID laws--that, critics say, would make it harder for minority voters, older people, students, legal immigrants, and the poor of all races to register and vote.”
That leads to this weekend’s news about Veasey v. Perry.
In her dissent of the 2013 Shelby decision, Justice Ginsburg likened the struggle for voting rights to the ancient Greek myth of fighting the Hydra. “Whenever one form of voting discrimination was identified and prohibited, others sprang up in its place.”
One hundred fifty years ago, former slaves were granted the right to vote through enactment of the Civil War amendments. As we see in BECAUSE THEY MARCHED, that right to vote only began to become a reality in 1965. From the perspective of the Supreme Court’s latest decision this weekend, these current and ongoing struggles for equality and voting rights make BECAUSE THEY MARCHED a powerful read and must-have resource.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
https://www.facebook.com/richie.parti...
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
April 25, 2016
Because They Marched is a narrative about the struggles of and fight for the Voting Rights Act. Russell Freedman goes into concrete and concise detail about the events that took place during the Voting Rights movement. In 1965 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. In the early 1960s, tensions in the segregated South intensified. Selma's black community and their supporters began to protest because of Blacks inability to register to vote.. The struggle received nationwide attention when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a voting rights march in January 1965 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 of Montgomery. The march got off to a horrific start on March 7 as law officers attacked peaceful demonstrators. Broadcast throughout the world, the violence attracted widespread outrage and led to demonstrators vowing to complete the march at any cost. On March 25, after several setbacks, protesters arrived at the end of the 54-mile march to a cheering crowd of 25,000 supporters.
The copyright page indicates that the aspects of this book are Juvenile Literature. The aspects of this book include: Selma to Montgomery Rights, Selma - Race Relations, Civil Rights Movement, and Suffrage. Therefore, this book is non-fiction. The text enhanced my already great knowledge of the events that led to the Voting Rights Act by providing more of an insight of specific things that happened. For instance I was not aware of the brutal beating the put SNCC chairman, John Lewis in the hospital for a fractured skull or the shooting of Viola Liuzzo. The book also gave me more information on Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark who was a widely known segregationist during that time period. I liked that the book had information on the most recent event in regards to the march, Shelby County vs Holder because I did not know about that case. I would absolutely recommend this book, especially to be used to teach students about Voting Rights. This book has a great narrative to tie into the 8th grade curriculum and is also great for the person just wanting a better understanding of our history. This book presents information in a clear and concise way while engaging the reader.
This book is very detailed and engaging.
The copyright page indicates that the aspects of this book are Juvenile Literature. The aspects of this book include: Selma to Montgomery Rights, Selma - Race Relations, Civil Rights Movement, and Suffrage. Therefore, this book is non-fiction. The text enhanced my already great knowledge of the events that led to the Voting Rights Act by providing more of an insight of specific things that happened. For instance I was not aware of the brutal beating the put SNCC chairman, John Lewis in the hospital for a fractured skull or the shooting of Viola Liuzzo. The book also gave me more information on Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark who was a widely known segregationist during that time period. I liked that the book had information on the most recent event in regards to the march, Shelby County vs Holder because I did not know about that case. I would absolutely recommend this book, especially to be used to teach students about Voting Rights. This book has a great narrative to tie into the 8th grade curriculum and is also great for the person just wanting a better understanding of our history. This book presents information in a clear and concise way while engaging the reader.
This book is very detailed and engaging.
June 13, 2015
In his book, Because They Marched: The People's Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America, Russell Freedman gives a full accounting of the events leading to and surrounding the marches from Selma to Birmingham, Alabama in 1965. Freedman's retelling includes numerous primary source documents including photographs that depict what is described in his text, along with information gathered from newspaper and television reports, quotes collected from a wide array of individuals who were present for the marches, and autobiographical texts of some of the leaders. Throughout the period associated with the Selma marches, countless acts of prejudice and racism ranging from verbal abuse to physical attacks, and even including murder, occurred. This is a book intended for young people, yet Freedman does not shield his readers from the facts, ugly and frightening though some of them may be. He is judicious in how far he goes to describe some of the more violent attacks and especially in using derogatory language only when it is from direct quotes that are essential to his message.
The message of this book is an important one, and it is critical that the events not be depicted as less than they were. Freedman's book allows young people to read of this event with language they can understand, and with the aid of an excellent selection of photographs that help to tell the story. Teachers and other adults can rest assured that the topic is handled appropriately, yet accurately.
June 20, 2015
Text to World:
This story is about the Selma voting right campaign. This book has images and stories of people who helped changed the voting rights for African Americans. These marched sparked something in our nation that changed how we looked to the world.
Culturally Specific:
This text is culturally specific because it describes the way whites and blacks were treated in the United States. People of both races had to stand up and say this is wrong, and they changed the way Black Americans were being treated. The images and stories support the facts in the story.
Blooms:
1-Who were the leaders in the Selma Voting Campaign movement?
2-Describe what was going on before the movement started, during, and after?
3-In the story, what question would you ask someone on each side of the movement?
4-How would you compare these stories and images to the ones in our social studies books? What are the similarities and differences?
5-In the story, it talks about people protesting without violence for this movement? How would you have protested during this movement? Would you boycott buses, hold up signs, attend a march, do nothing at all, fight, or something else.
6-Create an image or a song that sums up the civil right movement.
This story is about the Selma voting right campaign. This book has images and stories of people who helped changed the voting rights for African Americans. These marched sparked something in our nation that changed how we looked to the world.
Culturally Specific:
This text is culturally specific because it describes the way whites and blacks were treated in the United States. People of both races had to stand up and say this is wrong, and they changed the way Black Americans were being treated. The images and stories support the facts in the story.
Blooms:
1-Who were the leaders in the Selma Voting Campaign movement?
2-Describe what was going on before the movement started, during, and after?
3-In the story, what question would you ask someone on each side of the movement?
4-How would you compare these stories and images to the ones in our social studies books? What are the similarities and differences?
5-In the story, it talks about people protesting without violence for this movement? How would you have protested during this movement? Would you boycott buses, hold up signs, attend a march, do nothing at all, fight, or something else.
6-Create an image or a song that sums up the civil right movement.
September 23, 2014
Newberry Medalist Russell Freeman has written a vivid account of the march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965. Liberally illustrated with dozens of well-captioned, archival black-and-white photographs, Freeman chronicles the tensions that segregation in the South intensified in the 1960s through compelling narrative. Events such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr”s, voting rights march in January 1965, followed by the shooting of an unarmed demonstrator in February, triggered the March demonstration that got off to a horrific beginning. Law officers attacked peaceful demonstrators, which attracted widespread outrage and spurred civil rights demonstrators to complete the march across Alabama at any cost.
Student readers and researchers will find this a carefully researched and useful volume. Freeman clearly outlines the motivation and risks undertaken in seeking the basic right to vote. Researchers will also appreciate the brief civil rights timeline, handy index, source notes and selected bibliography.
Student readers and researchers will find this a carefully researched and useful volume. Freeman clearly outlines the motivation and risks undertaken in seeking the basic right to vote. Researchers will also appreciate the brief civil rights timeline, handy index, source notes and selected bibliography.
February 8, 2017
Nice overview of the Selma march and the fight for voting rights meant for a younger audience. For adults, there will be nothing new here, but still an important story to keep fresh in our minds. I continue to be shocked at how this wasn't that long ago when you had cops and the klux klan openly beating and killing people (even senior citizens, white clergy, etc.) trying to fight for the African American vote. It's a particularly important story as we see history repeating itself with laws trying to make it more difficult for some populations, like African Americans, to vote. The state of our country and the need (and dismissal by so many) for the Black Lives Matter movement makes me feel like we haven't made much progress. I listened to the audiobook which kind of defeated some of the purpose of the book which is telling the story with photographs, but Im already familiar with some of the images. It is important to see them.
October 1, 2014
This is a great example of historical non-fiction that can and should be used in social studies lessons on the Civil Rights Movement or to understand voting rights and the work of others besides MLK that worked for civil rights. However, this book is billed for 3rd-5th grade students and I'm not sure the story would hold their attention. I found myself a bit bored with the author's telling of what should be a very compelling story. Everything about the book is dark, probably due to the number of black and white photos and to the subject matter, which is by no means rosy. The appropriate timeline and epilogue detailing the issue of voting rights today make this a great instructional tool, but I doubt this age group of students would find this engaging. This is a book perhaps more suited for older students
2/3
2/3
March 10, 2015
Can you tell what my middle schoolers were reading about the past few weeks?
Because They Marched is about the marches that the African American people had in Selma, Alabama in an effort to gain their right to vote.
It begins by telling us about the teachers marching up to the courthouse and ends with the march to Montgomery, Alabama - which included Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and finally the successful march. It gives us a look into the Voting Rights Act and the way that these people gained the very important right to vote.
This book also uses descriptive words, direct quotes from those involved, and fantastic photographs to illustrate what really happened during this important time in American history.
3 stars - Again, because I'm not really one for history. Personal opinion.
Because They Marched is about the marches that the African American people had in Selma, Alabama in an effort to gain their right to vote.
It begins by telling us about the teachers marching up to the courthouse and ends with the march to Montgomery, Alabama - which included Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and finally the successful march. It gives us a look into the Voting Rights Act and the way that these people gained the very important right to vote.
This book also uses descriptive words, direct quotes from those involved, and fantastic photographs to illustrate what really happened during this important time in American history.
3 stars - Again, because I'm not really one for history. Personal opinion.
May 8, 2015
Russell Freedman has become my go-to-guy for high quality expository text for all readers, but especially for middle grades. This book, like his others that I have read, presents information in a clear and concise way while engaging the reader. The photographs enhance the text without sensationalizing the content. The end materials: Epilogue, Time Line, Source Notes, Selected Bibliography, Photo Credits, and Index are accurate and rich sources of information for the curious reader.
I am no longer teaching, but if I were, this is one book I would definitely include in my classroom library--and I taught high school. One of the nicest things about Freedman's books is that they can be used at multiple levels from intermediate to adult learners. Given the state of race relations in the United States today, I highly recommend this book.
(16-17: I-2, II-1, III-DM+)
I am no longer teaching, but if I were, this is one book I would definitely include in my classroom library--and I taught high school. One of the nicest things about Freedman's books is that they can be used at multiple levels from intermediate to adult learners. Given the state of race relations in the United States today, I highly recommend this book.
(16-17: I-2, II-1, III-DM+)
July 6, 2017
The events in Selma during the Civil Rights Movement are brought into focus in this book. The emphasis in the text in how much importance the younger people played in this dramatic change in history. Students from Hudson High organized the first lunch counter sit-in. "SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) had to use the student initially, otherwise the effort in Selma would have failed and there would have been no Selma campaign." What powerful words for students of today to read.
Primary source quotes from people who attended the marches and sit-ins and saw history in the making are included. Extensive source notes and solid bibliography will help students delve deeper into this subject.
Primary source quotes from people who attended the marches and sit-ins and saw history in the making are included. Extensive source notes and solid bibliography will help students delve deeper into this subject.
November 18, 2014
I picked this book to review for class- Once again, reading non-fiction intended for younger readers has made me feel dumb about the things I do not know. I have always heard of the voting rights march in Selma, but knew nothing about the particulars. Freedman does a great job combining narrative interlaced with dialogue, and providing lots of black and white photos chronicling the march and what led up to it. Aimed at middle-school readers and up, this story of courage is a must read for anyone. The epilogue is especially disturbing, seeing as in 2013, a key provision of the voting rights act was repealed.
March 6, 2017
I just read John Lewis's graphic memoir series March and Russell Freedman's Because They Marched is a wonderful companion to that series. Freedman really focuses on Selma and the events that happened there during the fight for voting rights. I listened to the audiobook of this so I did not see the wonderful photographs from the print version, but the audio was wonderfully narrated. I found myself thinking a lot about what is going on in America today and comparing them to the events of the 1960s. You would think we would learn from our history, but it doesn't appear that we have or that everyone is willing.
May 28, 2015
Great narrative nonfiction. The pictures are wonderful and will hopefully spark discussions about the role of the media in the civil rights movement to, in King's words, dramatize their plight. If used with students, definitely provide reading material about the recent Supreme Court decision dismantling this once-ground-breaking legislation and examine the rhetoric...it really hasn't been that long on the timeline of history since all of this happened. Are we really over it? What is the purpose of the safeguard of the law? Wonderful book.
July 30, 2015
I have to admit that I read this after watching the movie, Selma, and it was perfect. Maybe the order was wrong, but I really appreciated reading about the background of the marches done for voting rights. The explanations of why voting rights legislation were needed were perfect for the under-educated (me!), and the descriptions of the protests were stirring! Great narrative non-fiction to tie into 8th grade curriculum, but also great for the person just wanting a better understanding of our history! Thanks, Mr. Freedman, for another fine book!!
October 10, 2016
On the 50th anniversary of Selma march for voting rights, Russell Freeman documents the events through words and images. Honestly, this is a powerful book with a great deal of difficult American history. The march was done after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because African Americans were still denied the right to vote even after segregation was eliminated; which is something that I don't think most people realize. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in American history with a need to understand our earlier racial tension.
April 4, 2017
A great retrospect on the events leading up to the march from Selma to Montgomery to protest for voting rights. Concise writing with an abundance of photographs, this book documents an important movement in our country. the end of the book highlights the Supreme Court reversal in 2013 of many of the tenets of the The Voting Rights Act that ensured all Americans were guaranteed the right to vote. I liked that it showed the difficulties we had overcome to ensure voting rights and how close we are to reverting back in history to blocking those very same rights.
November 4, 2015
A look at the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, including the events that lead up to it and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was passed in large part due to the violence that surrounded it. Includes an epilogue about the Supreme Court's 2013 decision taking away some of the power of that act. Illustrated with powerful black and white photographs throughout. Recommended for grades 5 and up.
November 6, 2015
This is a very well done book. The details and information presented is appropriate for kids and easy to read. The timeline of events is accurate and the people are easy to keep clear.
The one issue I have with this book, is I don't see students wanting to read this. As an adult, even a teenager maybe, but I don't see many 4th-8th graders picking this up.
School Connections: Right to vote: Link to the Book: Stella in Starlight
The one issue I have with this book, is I don't see students wanting to read this. As an adult, even a teenager maybe, but I don't see many 4th-8th graders picking this up.
School Connections: Right to vote: Link to the Book: Stella in Starlight
July 4, 2017
Officially billed as a juvenile book, I found this account of the 1950's - 60's civil rights movement to be perfect for adults who want a thorough and moving summary of the times. So readable, factual, accessible, filled with photos and the voices of individual activists - I'm very impressed. Also, the author included much more than the most commonly known activists of the times and so gave a fuller picture of the collective nature of the struggle. I highly recommend this.
January 15, 2015
Good stuff, as usual. SO GLAD that in a book all about the Voting Rights Act, Freedman included an epilogue mentioning that the Supreme Court voted to partially dismantle it recently, as that's exactly where my mind had gone after finishing the rest of the book. What a great way to spark all sorts of discussions.
April 8, 2015
This book gives an overview of the events leading up to and following the march from Selma to Montgomery advocating for civil and voter rights. It's a quick read (less than 80 pages) but it will give you chills and bring you to tears. It also gives a little bit of information about the Supreme Court recently striking down the voting rights act. Must read!
August 23, 2015
This picture book WAW possibility surprised me because I didn't think I'd like it at all, but it is a quick read with lots of pictures and is info I think a lot of our kids don't know, so would be good for them to read. It is nonfiction info about the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 for equal voting rights. I learned a few things, too. This is a yes vote for me.
August 15, 2014
Through short chapters, a compelling narrative, and great use of powerful photograps and primary sources, Freedman offers a superb account of this momentous, troubled and violent time in American history.
July 5, 2015
Russell Freedman, despite his advanced age, has lost none of his brilliant writing skills. This book is deeply moving. The text is fantastic and it's accompanied by awesome photographs. Everybody should read this book.
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