We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March (Jane Addams Award Book (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Cynthia Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2012 | Series: Jane Addams Award Book (Awards) | Lexile Measure: 1020L (What's this?)

We ve Got a Job tells the little-known story of the 4,000 black elementary-, middle-, and high school students who voluntarily went to jail in Birmingham, Alalama, between May 2 and May 11, 1963. Fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi s and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. s precept to fill the jails, they succeeded where adults had failed in desegregating one of the most racially violent cities in America. Focusing on four of the original participants who have participated in extensive interviews, We ve Got a Job recounts the astonishing events before, during, and after the Children s March.

Editorial Reviews

Review

STARRED REVIEW Even with the many fine books out there about the role of young people in the Civil Rights era, this highly
readable photo-essay will hold YA readers with its focus on four young people who participated in the
Birmingham Children s March, set against the big picture of the fight against segregation and the roles of
adults. At nine, Audrey Hendricks was the youngest of nearly 4000 black children who marched,
protested, and sang their way to jail, and she had the support of her church, teachers, and middle-class
parents. Washington Booker lived in poverty in the projects; for him the police were the ultimate terror.
Smart, academic James Stewart chose not to do sit-ins, but marching felt right. Arnetta Streeter went to
young activists training. Important adult leaders on all sides are included in the story, from Martin Luther
King, Jr. and the Reverend Shuttlesworth to Bull Connor, and Levinson points out not just the individuals
with extreme viewpoints, but also the moderates who kept quiet about the insulting separate but equal
policies. The format will hook readers with spacious type, boxed quotes, and large black-and-white photos
on almost every double-page spread, from the horrifying view of the Klan marching with children to the
young protestors waiting to be arrested. A fascinating look at a rarely covered event for both curriculum
and personal interest. Chapter notes, a timeline, and a bibliography conclude.
Hazel Rochman --Booklist

STARRED REVIEW This chronicle of a pivotal chapter of the civil rights movement weaves together the stories of four black children in Birmingham, Ala., who were among some 4,000 who boycotted school to participate in a march to protest segregation. Before recounting that event, during which almost 2,500 young people were arrested and jailed, first-time author Levinson opens with intimate profiles of the four spotlighted children (drawn from interviews she conducted with each of them), along with descriptions of Birmingham s racist laws, corrupt politicians, antiblack sentiment and activists efforts to fight all of the above. Readers also get an upclose view of such leaders as Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights; Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated a nonviolent response; and James Bevel, a preacher who rallied the city s children and teens. Yet the most compelling component is Levinson s dramatic recreation of the courageous children s crusade and the change it helped bring about in the face of widespread prejudice and brutality. Powerful period photos and topical sidebars heighten the story s impact. Ages 10 up. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Feb.) --Publishers Weekly

STARRED REVIEW The author takes her inspiring tale of courage in the face of both irrational racial hatred and adult foot-dragging (on both sides) through the ensuing riots and the electrifying September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church...A moving record of young people rising at a pivotal historical moment, based on original interviews and archival research as well as published sources. --Kirkus

Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2012 --Publishers Weekly

STARRED REVIEW Triumph and tragedy in 1963 Bombingham, as children and teens pick up the flagging Civil Rights movement and give it a swift kick in the pants.
Levinson builds her dramatic account around the experiences of four young arrestees including a 9-year-old, two teenage activists trained in nonviolent methods and a high-school dropout who was anything but nonviolent. She opens by mapping out the segregated society of Birmingham and the internal conflicts and low levels of adult participation that threatened to bring the planned jail-filling marches dubbed Project C (for confrontation ), and by extension the entire civil-rights campaign in the South, to a standstill. Until, that is, a mass exodus from the city s black high schools (plainly motivated, at least at first, almost as much by the chance to get out of school as by any social cause) at the beginning of May put thousands of young people on the streets and in the way of police dogs, fire hoses and other abuses before a national audience. The author takes her inspiring tale of courage in the face of both irrational racial hatred and adult foot-dragging (on both sides) through the ensuing riots and the electrifying September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, then brings later lives of her central participants up to date.
A moving record of young people rising at a pivotal historical moment, based on original interviews and archival research as well as published sources. (photos, timeline, endnotes, multimedia resource lists) (Nonfiction. 11-15) --Kirkus

About the Author

Cynthia Y. Levinson holds degrees from Wellesley College and Harvard University and also attended the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. A former teacher and educational policy consultant and researcher, she has published articles in Appleseeds, Calliope, Cobblestone, Dig, Faces, and Odyssey.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (February 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561456276
• ISBN-13: 978-1561456277
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Children's Books > History > United States > 1900s
  • #47 in Books > Children's Books > Biographies > People of Color
  • #48 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Prejudice & Racism

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful nonfiction! February 13, 2012

By Quinby Frank

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

All I can say is "Wow!" It is fabulous! The author has all the requisites for an outstanding nonfiction book - timeline, thorough index, etc. and it was clear she has done an incredible amount of very thorough research -- also that she is passionate about her subject -- it clearly shows. Loved the balance of the four young people she chose. Interesting to learn about Shuttlesworth and Bevel and their importance to the Movement. Also she showed King wasn't perfect as well as the Kennedy administration's reluctance to get on board and why. Liked the inclusion of the importance of the singing as inspiration. Liked that she included the part about the firemen refusing to turn the hoses on the people -- they weren't all monsters (except Connor, of course). I can't say enough about how wonderful this book is. Parts of it really gave me the shivers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Kids and Adults February 15, 2012

By Sue Morris

Format:Hardcover

By May 1963, African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, had had enough of segregation and police brutality. But with their lives and jobs at stake, most adults were hesitant to protest the city's racist culture. Instead, the children and teenagers--like Audrey, Wash, James, and Arnetta--marched to jail to secure their freedom.

At a time when the civil rights movement was struggling, Birmingham's black youth answered Dr. Martin Luther King's call to "fill the jails" of their city. In doing so, they drew national attention to the cause, helped bring about the repeal of the segregation laws, and inspired thousands of other young people to demand their rights. (Inside jacket of We've Got a Job)

We've Got a Job tells a story about the civil rights movement few know. Each of the stories these four brave children tell are remarkable. That they took on this fight for equality at such young ages, and made Birmingham change its racists behaviors and policies is astonishing.

One of those children is Audrey. Her family was what many see as the typical American family. And today, they would be, but it was 1960 and they were black, living in a notoriously racist city in the South. There was nothing typical about Audrey's family. They were second-class citizens regulated to the back of the bus, and separate water fountains. Audrey heard the freedom fighters from the near daily meetings her parents hosted, and knew she had to help.

Wash, short for Washington, lived in a tenement house with his sister and mother. He was afraid to do something as common as take a bath. In fourth grade, a teacher threatened to beat Wash. He ran. In seventh grade, he skipped more than he attended.... Wash knew that his biggest threat were the police and Commissioner Bull Connor.

James lived in a great house with a pool. His father was a doctor and his mother taught college English. James was a bright kid. He figured out early that he had to be careful whom he trusted.

Light-skinned Arnetta endured teasing and name calling solely based on her skin color, even by the other black kids. Her father fought segregation hard and wanted to include Arnetta and her two younger sisters. Arnetta started a social club at school called the Peace Ponies. After hearing Dr. Martin Luther King speak, Arnetta and the rest of the Peace Ponies stepped up and the Movement.

Dr. Martin Luther King called for peaceful demonstrations, sit-ins, and marches all to "fill up the jails." The author has dug up details few have been privy to and, while disturbing, they are enlightening. One or two are strange. For instance, some American's believed the Russians were involved and trying to overthrow American democracy. There were not. The Ku Klux Klan was involved, as were some teachers, and white parents. The teachers and parents taught racist idiocy to their kids, saying blacks' blood is thicker and runs slower than whites, therefore they learn differently and needed segregated.

I was four in 1963, so I have little first-hand knowledge. I know more about the Vietnam War and the killings at Kent State, than I do about a nearly 350-year fight against racism. Even fifty years beyond the 1963 marches, racism still exists. This book has shown me so much, opened my eyes wide, and increased the empathy I always felt about the cruelty of that era. Written for kids ages ten and up, anyone can read this and find something they did not know--unless they were actually in Birmingham, Alabama, and listened to Dr. Martin Luther King speak to those kids in the early sixties.

I am not sure what to say other than this is a phenomenal book by author, Cynthia Levinson. We've Got a Job is the best book I have read this year. Granted, it is only February, but I honestly believe this one will stay in my top ten for 2012. The pictures are so good at capturing the day. The speeches, Point for Progress, and press statement, among other documents and quotes that line the sidebar. This book should be in every middle grade classroom and high school American History ad Government classes. We've Got a Job is exhaustively researched and expertly written. Children 10 and older can read this with understanding and adults can read this and learn something new from that era of their life.

I can think of three wonderful things to do with this book. It can be a textbook and inspire a new generation, this time in integrated classrooms. This book is something adults need to read. We can learn things we did not know, correct some of the things we thought we knew but are false, and find courage within the pages to change for the best. We've Got a Job looks perfect on a coffee table, waiting for someone to open its pages and start a conversation. Without conversations, nothing can change for the good.

Note: book received courtesy of the publisher. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Six out of Five Stars! February 12, 2012

By Lynda Hunt

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a truly amazing book--the kind that makes me wish I was still teaching! Read my review here:

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5.0 out of 5 stars 1963 Birmingham Children's March May 3, 2013

By Its Time to Read Mamaw

Format:Hardcover

May 2013 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Birmingham Children's March.

This was a major event in American History. Several children who were part of this march tell from their own personal experience of this historical event. Some of these children Audrey Hendricks, Wash Booker, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter fought for their civil rights in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama.

One young girl, Audrey Faye Hendricks, Age 9, Goes to Jail, she bragged to friends, family and her teacher that she was proud to be going to jail.

Many children had suffered abuse and injury during the march.

I was born in 1950 so I was 12 yrs. old at that time and I had never understood what harm was there in giving Blacks equal rights. I remember crying over the injustice and my parents kept telling me that I was not old enough to understand. I understood and I knew God would not approve of the treatment His children were put through.

This is a book I will put on my book shelf in full view in hopes of anyone entering my home might pick up this book and start an intelligent conversation about this event in American History.

I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Peachtree Publishers for review. I was in no way compensated for this review. This review is my honest opinion.

5.0 out of 5 stars Children Crusades in 1963 Birmingham January 29, 2013

By G1Porter

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Cynthia Levinson is an amazing author and this book should be read by every generation so that we can fully understand the dynamics in place that led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Filled with personal testimonies and skillfully woven into an entertaining and informative read this book examines the events that took place using the words of those who were actually there from the leaders and the foot soldiers. You will meet and quickly learn to respect what this amazing generation accomplished to help black people receive the equity promised by our founders. They will retell the victories and the sad and often heart breaking defeats experienced that still continue to guide their lives and do so in such a way as to invite you into the depths of their hearts and this moving experience. America owes these who chose to right this wrong a debt of gratitude that we shall never repay. Buy this book and open your eyes to an important part of history - the truth.