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Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom
History has made me an African American. It is an Africa that I have come from, and an America that I have helped to create.
Since they were first brought as captives to Virginia, the people who would become African Americans have struggled for freedom. Thousands fought for the rights of all Americans during the Revolutionary War, and for their own rights during the Civil War. On the battlefield, through education, and through their creative genius, they have worked toward one goal: that the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness be denied no one.
Fired by the legacy of men and women like Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, Ida B. Wells, and George Latimer, the struggle continues today. Here is African-American history, told through the stories of the people whose experiences have shaped and continue to shape the America in which we live.
Since they were first brought as captives to Virginia, the people who would become African Americans have struggled for freedom. Thousands fought for the rights of all Americans during the Revolutionary War, and for their own rights during the Civil War. On the battlefield, through education, and through their creative genius, they have worked toward one goal: that the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness be denied no one.
Fired by the legacy of men and women like Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, Ida B. Wells, and George Latimer, the struggle continues today. Here is African-American history, told through the stories of the people whose experiences have shaped and continue to shape the America in which we live.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Walter Dean Myers
207 books1,219 followerspseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson
Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.
After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.
Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.
In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 14, 2024
When I saw that the author of Monster had a non-fiction book, I had to pick this one up. It wasn't bad and was very informative. The documentation images and other photos were a nice touch!
July 10, 2024
This is a book to read to your teens. So much more information than they get in school. Tired of hearing every year only about Martin Luther King. They need to know what really happened in this country. It is important for my grand-daughter to understand slavery and the history of Africans . I also learned so much.
March 16, 2023
The history of African Americans from a Free African to Slavery and finally Freed in America but deprived is depicted well. Also the course of struggles in different phases is narrated well. It is a very informative books.
November 26, 2024
A necessary work, aimed at young readers, with deep research unfolded through incisive writing to reveal historical figures and times rarely found in any of the history books I've read up till now--and I've read a lot of books. Thank you, Mr. Myers!
April 1, 2018
Pretty nice. It was quite informational, and the anecdotes were interesting. It was boring about once or twice when reading documents of slaves.
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April 29, 2015Myers, W (1991). Now is Your Time!: The African- American Struggle for Freedom. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Now is Your Time! is a 1992 honor book that is based on the struggle for African American freedom. The history of African American struggle is outlined in this book by explaining the history of colored people all the way back to the Civil War and slavery in the 1800’s. The book continues on the history of African Americans in the United States by highlighting cases such as Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education. African American history is brought to life throughout the compelling personal stories of Ida B. Wells and Civil Rights activists. The story concludes with Meyers explaining that although their rights have greatly improved, African Americans must know where they have been before they can successfully move forward. The historical parts of this book are very accurate and detailed. The story goes in chronological order which helps students comprehend the timeline of African American lives throughout history. The only critique I have for this book is that at times it may seem biased or blaming to other cultures. In the classroom this book would be great to use in a diversity and historical unit.
Now is Your Time! is a 1992 honor book that is based on the struggle for African American freedom. The history of African American struggle is outlined in this book by explaining the history of colored people all the way back to the Civil War and slavery in the 1800’s. The book continues on the history of African Americans in the United States by highlighting cases such as Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education. African American history is brought to life throughout the compelling personal stories of Ida B. Wells and Civil Rights activists. The story concludes with Meyers explaining that although their rights have greatly improved, African Americans must know where they have been before they can successfully move forward. The historical parts of this book are very accurate and detailed. The story goes in chronological order which helps students comprehend the timeline of African American lives throughout history. The only critique I have for this book is that at times it may seem biased or blaming to other cultures. In the classroom this book would be great to use in a diversity and historical unit.
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April 26, 2014The book describes the history of African Americans through the stories of the struggles and accomplishments that have been made throughout the years by African Americans. This book is an informative history book that has a literature quality that fits all ages. The reason behind this book is important to bring into the classroom, as students need to be aware of African American history and what they have been through in order to receive the liberty and pursuit of happiness that white Americans were proposed to from the beginning. The book sends the message in an appropriate way that is not to disturbing for young readers, yet still gives the students the idea of the struggle that the African Americans faced throughout American history. I found myself following the book very well as the stories that were told throughout the book followed the informative passage that the author was telling their audience.
February 18, 2008
I'm not actually sure that I finished this book, but I know I read most of it. It was a very good read.
May 1, 2008
Good for high school kids and interesting for adults too.
Want to Read
March 13, 2013To re read
February 8, 2014
It was a very interesting book
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews