A Dream Of Freedom: the civil Rights Movement from 1954-1968

by Diane McWhorter

A stirring history of the Civil Rights movement in America by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of CARRY ME HOME.

In this history of the modern Civil Rights movement, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Diane McWhorter focuses on the monumental events that occurred between 1954 (the year of Brown versus the Board of Education) and 1968 (the year that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assasinated). Beginning with an overview of the movement since the end of the Civil War, McWhorter also discusses such events as the 1956 MTGS bus boycott, the 1961 Freedom Rides, and the 1963 demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama, among others.

The author uses interviews she conducted personally with

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, African American

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes a historical look at the Civil Rights movement during the 1950's and 60's from the perspective of the people who made it possible. While the author organizes the political and social events of the movement, she connects the events to the people involved.

As a teacher, I felt that this is a wonderful introductory book for students interested in studying the Civil Rights Movement. I especially like how the author goes beyond the events and people to offer insight into the controversy and politics behind them, including the FBI involvement. This gives younger students a great starting point for critiquing literature and analyzing history accurately. Also a wonderful addition to the book is the amount of original photographs that students would not see in elementary/middle school history texts. As a teacher, I feel that this additional element would really draw the interest of the student to look further into the events on a deeper level.

[Rae'Lu McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of an assignment for my Washington State University Teaching & Learning 307 class. This book briefly discusses several monumental advances in the civil rights movement over a 15-year period. Advancements such as the Brown versus Board of Education supreme court ruled to overturn the “separate but equal” standards that was practiced regularly in 1954. Also, the 1961 Freedom Rides movement is covered in the book. The Freedom Rides movement emphasized the legalization of desegregated public transportation. This movement aimed “to get the racists of the South to create a crisis”” and that is exactly what it achieved (McWhorter, 2004). On the 10th day one of the bused of Freedom Riders was chased from Anniston, Alabama by angry locals. As the Freedom Riders were fleeing a tire blew ‘a few miles out of town, and a mob of white Alabamians rushed the Greyhound bus” attacking the passengers (McWhorter, 2004). It also covered The Poor People’s Campaign led by Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis in 1968. This campaign reflected Kings view that “it wasn’t just black people whose rights he was fighting for; it was poor people of all colors” that needed representation (McWhorter, 2004). As well as several other monumental events for Civil Rights advancement.

[Sue Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a good overview of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), arranged chronologically by years and then by topics and told in short narrative chapters that make it read more like a story. The author includes an account of some of the internal conflicts within the movement about the best way to move forward, and her perspective as a white Southern girl who lived through that time period provides an interesting lens. I felt her assessment of the Black Power movement and especially the Black Panthers was not fair at all, and there were other times that biased language detracted from the narrative for me (such as calling WEB DuBois a "legendary snob."). But all in all it is a good introduction for young people to both the major and less known groups, individuals, and events surrounding the CRM.

[Maria Ritchey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane McWhorter's, "A Dream of Freedom", is a treasure trove of information regarding the American Civil Rights Movement. This book is packed full of history, stories from the Civil Rights era, photos of events and activists, and quotes from the movement's most significant players. The book is organized chronologically, each chapter focusing on a different year from 1954 to 1968. Within each section, McWhorter shares the stories of that year's most impactful events and important people. For example, in the section focusing on the year 1961, McWhorter shares about the Alabama Freedom Riders. The information within this text is incredibly factual and heavy on details, almost like a history textbook. However, the information shared in an anecdotal fashion paired with the startling photographs grabs the reader's attention and draws them into history in a way that a normal textbook could not. It is both poignant, insightful, and easy to understand. This book, though far too long to read aloud in one sitting, would be an excellent resource for middle childhood students and teachers.

[Eloise Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the Civil Right Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The way the stories are told through peoples experiences of each event make it more personal and allow the reader to connect to the story. As I was reading the story about Little Rock I imagined myself in the little girls shoes walking to class for the first time in a new school wondering what it must have been like to be yelled at with such anger. This book does a great job of not telling just the facts like our text books do which make the stories enjoyable to read. I also really enjoyed how the pictures and the text go hand in hand. In the story of Ole Miss about James Meredith going to college for the first time there is a picture of him being escorted on the campus. I think this would be an excellent book to have in a classroom and to help introduce the Civil Rights Movement. You could use it to have discussions and projects.

[Lenise Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

McWhorter, Diane (2004). A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1968 New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2005
Non-fiction/Informational
Junior Book Project
Informational book that gives chronological information on the Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1968. A great read to supplement a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement for 6-8th graders. The use of photographs helps comprehension of the content, especially for visual learners. Due to the content, language and some of the photos, this is definitely not a book for elementary students. If you, as a teacher, would like to enhance your students understanding of what life was like for both blacks and white supporters of the Movement, then this is a book that would be great to have in your library. However, you may need to send a letter home to parents first due to some of the content.

[Kenna Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was read for the nonfiction genre assignment. I believed this was a great representation of how to make nonfiction still engaging for the younger readers. I enjoyed this book very much. Civil rights is always a hard subject to talk about for anyone, but the author does a great job about giving information that kids need to learn about what happened. One thing that I enjoyed a lot was how the author set up the book. The author would have main sections that were the year. Then inside that section were separate chapters that explained an event that happened in the movement. This made it easy to follow along and have no confusion as to timeline of the movement. The only thing I would have changed was to have more perspectives and personal stories, but overall I thought this book was a great example of nonfiction. This book is something that I would use in my classroom if I wanted to teach my students about what occurred during the Civil Rights movement.

[Shauna Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement From 1954 to 1968 is a story that covers minor and major events that happened from 1954 to 1968 that affected the civil rights movement, and what kept the movement going for such a long period of time. This story covers over 11 different situations that happened, from lynchings to Rosa Parks to different restaurant sit ins, that impacted the lives of African Americans everyday. The story followed the events in chronological order, and gave personal stories to situations that happened, so it was easy for the reader to imagine the scenes in their minds. The book gave smaller descriptions of all the events, but it still clearly portrayed the amount of suffering, hardships, and deaths that were present for African Americans during the civil rights movements. I really like this book because it is a great way to get children into reading non-fiction books that follow a story line to make the stories more relatable.

[Adrienne Kravchak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Written by a woman from Birmingham, Alabama, this book clearly explains many of the important events from the Civil Rights Movement. It follows a time line offering summaries and important details of influential events, like Brown v. Board of Education, sit-ins, and the March on Washington. Each chapter provides another year of progress through this movement.

Personal Reaction: This was a great one! I found it very informative, yet clear and concise. The photographs throughout really help the reader see what was happening at the time. I liked the way it was organized in time order.

Intended Audience: Elementary age students

Curriculum Connection: I would use this book when studying the Civil Rights Movement with students. It would be a great resource to allow them to dig deeper into the issues and events of the time.

[Cate Mueller]

A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1968 by Diane McWhorter, is an outstanding Orbis Pictus book title that focuses on the Civil Rights Movement and was recommended in 2005. Throughout McWhorter’s work, the text provides context of the ongoing fight for equality and the monumental events that occurred between the year of Brown versus Board of education, and the year that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. Setting a framework by addressing a detailed overview of movements post Civil War. Some of the events that are discussed include the 1956 Montgomery bus boycott, the 1961 Freedom Riders and the 1963 demonstration in Birmingham with over 100 captivating photos. This book is a great way for students to understand the civil rights movement in full perspective of events that occurred during the time period.

[Kellie Deruwe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the Civil Right Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The way the stories are told through peoples experiences of each event make it more personal and allow the reader to connect to the story. As I was reading the story about Little Rock I imagined myself in the little girls shoes walking to class for the first time in a new school wondering what it must have been like to be yelled at with such anger. This book does a great job of not telling just the facts like our text books do which make the stories enjoyable to read. I also really enjoyed how the pictures and the text go hand in hand. In the story of Ole Miss about James Meredith going to college for the first time there is a picture of him being escorted on the campus.

[Ashley Saunders]

McWhorter, D (2004). A dream of freedom: The civil rights movement from 1954-1968. New York. Scholastic Inc.

School Library Journal Starred Review

Informational

This is a fantastic book to go along with any Civil Rights lessons in school or to use as a source for a history project in middle school. The book itself follows events and information in chronological order that help the reader see how the Civil Rights Movement developed over time. The images in the text also offer a deeper understanding of the material for students and teachers alike. As I said above this book would be best suited for middle school because there is mature content that might not be suitable for the younger students learning about the Civil Rights Movement.

[Mandee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Dream of Freedom by Diane McWhorter is a book written about the Civil Rights Movement. This book includes stories from the Civil Rights era, photos of events and quotes from the movement's most important people. The book is organized chronologically, each chapter focusing on a different year from 1954 to 1968 and in each section the author shares the stories of that year's most important people and events.
A Dream of Freedom by Diane McWhorter is full of information that is presented in an anecdotal way. It also includes photographs that grabs the reader's attention and draws them into the history of the moment.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this one was probably the best book on the Civil Rights that I'd read (and I'd read quite a few this year). A really complete look at the era, divided out by year, with a lot of conclusions drawn that are designed to make you think blend to make this book perfection of history for children. The amount of information is staggering, especially as you don't even realize how much is being given. Somewhat narrative, with lots of pictures, this was a book well worth picking up. I highly recommend this if you need to teach your kids about Civil Rights. I couldn't be more pleased to find this gem!

[Derrith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interviews and stunning photographs make this book truly great. The Civil Rights Movement is treated not just as a significant period in American history, but in the lives of those who lived it. The interviews personalize and connect us to the experience. There is also mention of some of the less celebrated figures and events of the era, which is lacking in some books on the subject. I have used this book with my students on numerous occasions. Not just during Black History Month.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures were good and the format (year-by-year) was interesting, but I just couldn't like this book as much as I wanted. Even though it was set up year by year, sometimes things were discussed the year later or the year before, which was a bit confusing. And I left the book thinking that the author really had something against MLK. The pictures and the quantity of stories (though most are just little snippets) are the best bits of the book.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book with a detailed look of what really caused and brought change to America to make it how we see it today. There's tons of great, reliable information on what you know what happened during the civil rights movement and what you didn't. So if you aren't in touch with someone who can tell you what was changing for their life or in the United States, look to this book for the facts you want to see.

[Virginia Franklyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book recounts the tumultuous Civil Rights Era. It covers everything from the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Rides, Sit-ins, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Black Panthers, and much more. It's engaging and powerfully written. I learned so much! This book is classified as juvenile nonfiction, but only upper elementary would likely benefit from it. It's better suited for teen nonfiction and of course for adults like me.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "children's book" but, while not gory, does not smooth over hard realities of the times. The author, a white, privileged girl growing up in the South, traces the Civil Rights Movement, sprinkled with her naive and/or ignorant perspective at the time. This is a great book for anyone wanting a succinct overview of these years.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Age: 5th-7th grade

An excellent and thorough description of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. written chronologically from 1954-1968 starting with a brief history before Brown v. Board of Education until the emergence of the Black Panthers and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. Larger font with several photographs of prominent figures.

[Holly Morey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for elementary school children who want to know about the Civil Rights movement. The author breaks down the movement into individual events that are informative and easy to understand.

[Nadia Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing about kids--they love it when you talk to them seriously and engage them as the sophisticated people they really are. This gorgeously written book does just that. It's full of story and insight and strikes just the right tone of honesty. Wish I had written it.

[Liza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent chronology of the Civil Rights Movement, complete with well written text and interesting photos and insets. After having read several books on different parts of the Movement, I appreciated this one putting them all together for me and making the connections between them.

[Marguerite]

Classroom applications-nonfiction text
Shared reading, guided reading, use to teach reading strategies. Engaging photographs.
6 copies available

[Rll520a_Christina Coleman]

Great resourse book about the Civil Rights Era. Wonderful actual photographs. Book goes in chronlogical order. Laid out very well for an adult or younger student to read or reference.

[Ashley Scicere]

um can someone help me do you have to pay to read the book and i need to read it

[Karina Dulin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was on the reading list for the kids, but they'll be skipping it. Did not care for author's bias.