Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case

 Crowe, Chris. Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case. 2003. 128p. ISBN 9780803728042. Available at 364.15 CRO on the library shelves.

In 1955, Emmett Till, 1 4 year-old Black teen, was brutally murdered in Mississippi for wolf whistling at a White woman. His death sparked outrage and ignited the Civil Righs Movement. Born in 1941 in Chicago, Emmett Till had the opportunity in the summer of 1955 to go down to Mississippi and spend time with relatives. African Americans had difficult lives in the northern parts of the United States, facing discrimination, but this was nothing compared to how African Americans were treated in the South. The legacy of Jim Crow and of slavery ensured that African Americans were considered expendable second-class citizens at best.

Emmett was warned by his mother to never talk back at White folks, and keep his eyes down. This advice he either forgot or chose to ignore it on one steamy August day, when he was hanging out with his friends and relatives near the only grocery store in Money, Mississippi. Goaded by the kids around him, he went inside the store, and allegedly asked the woman running the store out on a date, and then whistling at her when she came out of the store. Three days later, the woman's husband enlisted confederates to teach Emmett a lesson which resulted in his death.

The two brothers responsible for Emmett's death were brought to justice and charged with his murder, but were quickly acquitted by an all-white jury angry with the national attention and the threat to the Southern way of life that the questioning caused. The two men escaped punishment but were ostracized from their community. Emmett's body had returned to Chicago, where the casket was opened and pictures taken of his brutally disfigured body, before being published in the press. African American leaders throughout the United States organized demonstrations and inspired a movement to fight for justice for all African Americans. 

Emmett's murder eventually led to massive cultural changes in the United States, a process that continues to this day.

She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman

 Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman. 2019. 157p. ISBN 978-1-982139-59-9. Available at B TUB on the library shelves.

Born into slavery in Maryland, Araminta Ross, who later took the name of Harriet Tubman, lived a hard life. Her mother's slave master had willed her and her family to be free upon reaching 45 years old, but his death and subsequent move meant that his descendants chose to ignore his request. As a result, the family continued to toil away. Atypical of most slave arrangements at the time, Araminta's mother and father managed to stay together, though some of their children were sold as they became of age.

Sent in the master's house at a young age, Araminta was not very good at housekeeping. Transferred to the field, her short stature soon developed muscles that belied her height. Despite the hard work, Araminta loved being outdoors in nature, a love that would serve her well when she finally escaped and arrived in Philadelphia, a free state. 

Araminta took on her grandmother's name, Harriet, and, despite her fears, she returned time and again to the Eastern Shore in Maryland to rescue and free family members, friends, and perfect strangers. She made contacts with leaders of the abolitionist movement, and raised much needed funds for her endeavors. Her personal life continued to be very hard, however, as she had to support not only herself but her older parents as well as many member of her freed family. Nevertheless, Harriet continued to rescue people from the South.

With the start of the Civil War, Harriet sought to get involved again. Able to gain the trust of former slaves and understanding southern mentalities, she was recruited and sent as a spy in South Carolina. First used as a cleaning lady at camp, she soon displayed her leadership skills and conducted several raids against the Confederacy. Despite the price on her head, she continued to serve as a nurse, spy, and camp lady for years, before poor health forced her to return home.

In the later stages of her life, Harriet continued to advocate for African Americans. She founded a home for old people, held the government accountable to provide military benefits for herself and for African-Americans who served in the armed forces, and joined the women's suffrage movement. 

Harriet Tubman had a disproportionate impact on the history of the United States. She stood for courage in the face of oppression, and never relented despite the threats to herself and her family. A true American icon, Harriet Tubman continues to be an inspiration for the oppressed and the poor.

Powell v. Alabama: The Scottsboro Boys and American Justice

 Horne, Gerald. Powell v. Alabama: The Scottsboro Boys and American Justice. 1997. 128p. ISBN 978-0-531-11314-0. Available at 345.73 HOR on the library shelves.

In 1931, nine African American youths were removed from a train in Alabama and accused of raping two white women. They were promptly arraigned, tried, and sentenced to death in the face of a hostile crowd and jury of all white men. In the rush to achieve what they saw as justice, however, a racist society's representatives committed several errors of law, which were twice appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, creating landmark rulings that still affect us today.

In Powell v. Alabama, the author reviews the trial cases that led to the condemnation of the boys. Their arrest, the trial, and the various appeals are described extensively. Prior to the Supreme Court decision in Powell v. Alabama, the right to a fair trial and independent and competent counsel varied widely from State to State and even from person to person. A White person brought up on capital punishment charges stood a better chance in a court of law than a Black person. They likely had better representation and did not have to fight organized and systemic racism.

Powell v. Alabama resulted in a decision that all criminal suspects had the right to counsel under the 6th Amendment. Horne describes how this was not a foregone conclusion, as this right did not exist in England before the American Revolution. Supreme Court justices, however, recognized the necessity for a fair and impartial justice system to provide the foundation of a democratic society. 

The second case that made it to the Supreme Court out of the Scottsboro Boys trial was Norris v. Alabama, which recognized that juries needed to include African Americans and other people to better represent society.

For more specific information about the Scottsboro Boys, read Accused! The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment. Accused! The Trials of the Scottsboro Boys: Lies, Prejudice, and the Fourteenth Amendment.

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919

Hartfield, Claire. A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919. 2018. 208p. ISBN 9781328699046. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

On a sweltering July 27, 1919, five African-American teens left their Chicago tenements near the Union stockyard, and went to the 26th street beach on Lake Michigan. Racial tensions had been simmering in the city for years, but the United States’ entry in the First World War had triggered a labor shortage at the same time as a high demand for meat for troops, and the companies that ran the stockyard recruited heavily among new immigrant groups, and from African-Americans living in the South. Despite the hard living conditions in Chicago, life for African-Americans was generally better than in the South. The return of troops, however, meant that less jobs were available. Thus, race, class, and immigration issues were all intersecting in 1919, making Chicago a powder keg that a single match could easily ignite.

That match came in the form of Eugene Williams and his friends. The teens played in the warm waters, but they did not notice as their raft slowly drifted towards the White beach on 29th street. Though Chicago was not officially segregated, a division between Whites and Blacks had taken place. White beachgoers noticed the kids on what they considered their beach, and they threw rocks. One of them fatally struck Eugene, who did not know how to swim. His death by drowning triggered anger among African-American beachgoers, and this in turn fueled their resentment against the city and its other inhabitants.

Violence soon ensued, with gangs of immigrants chasing African-Americans, bombings rocking Black neighborhoods, and many people being injured and killed. With the city in full riot, thousand of police officers and state militia intervened, but since they mainly protected White neighborhoods, they only served to fuel the anger. Over the course of a week, 15 Whites and 23 African-American men were killed, while hundreds were injured and much property was destroyed. As the heat dissipated, the rioters’ energy also waned, but the anger would continue and eventually lead to the Civil Rights movement and African-American advocacy.

Fans of history will appreciate the details of this dark page and will enjoy explanations that can directly be related to social conditions today.

While the World Watched

McKinstry, Carolyn Maull. While the World Watched. 2011. 320p. ISBN 9781414336367. Available at ...

When a bomb blasted inside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963, Carolyn Maull’s life was forever changed. Four girls from the African-American congregation were killed by the actions of members of the Ku Klux Klan, throwing the city in turmoil and shining a spotlight on the unequal treatment of Blacks in Alabama. Carolyn had just been in the bathroom a minute before the blast, but had left just in time. Reeling from the attack, it took her years to finally come to terms with the events of that day.

With the struggle for civil rights raging in the South, Birmingham was one of the most segregated and violent cities. African-Americans were routinely targeted by the Klan for fighting against the established White order and for requesting better treatment and life conditions. Carolyn, as the only girl in her family, was sheltered by her parents and was protected from the worst abuses, but this bombing and its consequences forced her to confront the segregationist society she lived in. This vile action galvanized the Civil Rights movement and attracted Dr. Martin Luther King to Birmingham. Demonstrations and struggles followed, and eventually the city was desegregated.

Carolyn lived and worked at the forefront of it all. Her first-person perspective provides a much needed account of these events that marked a generation and continue to impact our society today, and how far we must still travel to make everyone feel a part of this great nation.

It All Comes Down to This

English, Karen. It All Comes Down to This. 2017. 368p. ISBN 978-0-544-83957-1. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

In 1965, the Civil Rights movement is in full swing in the United States. The Civil Rights Act was just passed the year before, but Jim Crow laws remain on the books in much of the country. California is more free than most states, but even there being African-American is to be part of the struggle for equal rights. For twelve-year-old Sophie, however, these issues are nothing but background noise.

As a member of the only African-American family in her neighborhood, she will be entering 9th grade along with her best friend Jennifer, who also happens to be twelve also as well as white. Her older sister Lily, meanwhile, will be moving to Atlanta to attend Spelman College, a black college. Sophie will find herself alone with her mother, who owns an art gallery, and her father, who is lawyer. Sophie dreads the countdown to August.

A trio of sisters down the road from Sophie have a pool, but she cannot swim there as their parents forbid colored people. Sophie is often reminded that she is African-American, but she doesn’t see what race has to do with it. Interested in writing and acting, Sophie and Jennifer seize the chance to audition for a community play, but she knows she will be the only African-American kid to audition. She plans on memorizing not only her part but all of the play, just to get a fighting chance.

With her parents’ marriage falling apart and a mistress in the picture, Sophie finds herself spending more time alone with Mrs. Baylor, the new housekeeper. Lily, meanwhile, finds herself attracted to Nathan, Mrs. Baylor’s son, who’s blacker than night while Lily could almost pass as white. This attraction is frowned upon by their mother, through the bias that lighter skin is better.

As Sophie experiences racism and as the summer days slowly drain away, the racial tensions in Los Angeles near the boiling point. Can Sophie learn to cope with the cards she’s been dealt? For a boy’s perspective on a similar theme, read Armstrong & Charlie, taking place a decade later in Los Angeles.

Confederate Flag: Controversial Symbol of the South

Marcovitz, Hal. Confederate Flag: Controversial Symbol of the South. Part of the Patriotic Symbols of America. 2015. 48p. ISBN 978-1-4222-3121-0. Available at 929.92 on the library shelves.

The Confederate flag has been in the news recently as a symbol of racism and of oppression. Yet for many, it represents a cultural heritage for which men fought and died. When Southern States seceded from the Union following Abraham Lincoln’s election, they formed their own government and appointed a committee to create symbols for the new Confederacy. The result was the Stars and Bars, a flag similar in design and colors to that of the United States. This design proved dangerous in battle, however, as it was impossible at a distance, with dust and smoke, to determine to which side troops belonged. Both flags were red, white and blue with bars and stars!

Generals in the field designed a new battle flag that could not be mistaken for Union flags, and soon this flag was adopted and used throughout the South. It never replaced the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy, which evolved twice more over the next four years, yet it became the most recognized symbol of the South.

This book presents the history of the flag and discusses current and past controversies surrounding its use in the South. Fans of history will appreciate learning about the process of symbolism from creation to adoption to veneration, but in the end they will have to answer for themselves whether they view the Confederate flag as a tool of oppression or of freedom.

The Right to Privacy

Kemper, Bitsy. The Right to Privacy. Part of the Understanding the United States Constitution series. 2015. 112p. ISBN 978-14777506-6. Available at 342.73 KEM on the library shelves.

The right to privacy does not appear anywhere in the United States’ Constitution, yet courts have over the years interpreted many of the amendments as providing several guidelines against government overreach in people’s lives. During the colonial period, British soldiers could and often searched colonists’ homes and lodged there without compensation. In reaction, the framers of the Constitution added the Bill of Rights to protect the new nation.

Aside from exploring the historical roots of the right to privacy, this book explores issues related to video cameras in schools and in public, the legal searching of students’ lockers and possessions, the right of schools to drug test athletes, access to medical and educational records, garbage collection, and metal detectors at school entrances. Federal and state law cases are examined in relation to these topics. Tort is introduced and explained, and the future of privacy in a surveillance age is discussed.

Every student should read this book to understand their rights and their obligations. Only by being informed can they know whether schools are violating their rights.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. 2009. 133p. ISBN 978-0-374-31322-7. Available at B COL on the library shelves.

Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin had no idea she would become the trigger that led to the desegregation of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama when, on March 2, 1955, she decided to remain in her seat instead of giving it up to a white woman. Arrested, handcuffed and jailed, Claudette fought the Jim Crow laws of the South and worked with the NAACP to take her case to court to challenge the constitutionality of “separate but equal.” Unfortunately, the city withdrew the violating segregating law charge and instead Claudette was convicted of assaulting a police officer. The case the South had been waiting for disappeared.

Instead of being praised, Claudette became a pariah at her school and in her community. It didn’t help matters that she became pregnant out of wedlock. Meanwhile, the NAACP’s local secretary, Rosa Parks, followed in Claudette’s steps and was arrested on the bus for not giving up her seat. Unlike Claudette, she was the perfect poster child: She was 42, a devout church goer, well appreciated in the community, and a hard worker.

With nothing changing, Dr. Martin Luther King and his colleagues called for a boycott of the Montgomery bus system, and filed a lawsuit against the city. Claudette was once again approached to testify, and she readily agreed. This time, the lawsuit was successful, and the bus company was ordered desegregated. Claudette’s refusal to give her seat nine months before Rosa Park had been the catalyst for change sought by the African-American community, and her actions directly contributed to the birth of the Civil Rights movement.

The Migration North

De Medeiros, James. The Migration North. Part of the African American History series. 2009. 48p. ISBN 978-1-59036-880-0. Available at 304.8 DE on the library shelves.

The end of the Civil War did not bring an end to the suffering and the intolerance that gripped the Southern States. Instead, it was replaced by Jim Crow and segregation. African-Americans who wanted a better life began leaving the South and migrated northward, to states like Illinois and Michigan where jobs were plentiful and discrimination was not as entrenched.

This migration occurred in two distinct phases, with African-Americans moving north before the Great Depression, then again following the end of the Second World War. The NAACP and African American publications out of Chicago were responsible for publicizing the opportunities available in the North. Integration of the troops during the Second World War set the stage for the eventual growth of the Civil Rights movement.

This short books provides an excellent overview of this lesser-known topic to readers who enjoy history and civil rights.

The Pullman Strike of 1894

Burgan, Michael. The Pullman Strike of 1894. 2008. 48p. ISBN 978-0-7565-3348-9. Available at 331.892 BUR on the library shelves.

The industrial revolution forever changed the way people in the United States lived and worked. The expansion of the railroad suddenly allowed travel and shipping across vast distances over a short period of time, making the country suddenly accessible to most. Many train travelers of the time enjoyed the luxurious Pullman car, with its fancy woodwork and comfortable seating and sleeping arrangements.

Build in Chicago by the Pullman Palace Car Company, the Pullman car at first took the country by storm and provided for better traveling conditions. Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company were comparatively well paid and had access to company housing in Pullman’s own town. George Pullman, owner and founder of the company, wanted to provide the best possible working environment for his workers.

But as the economic conditions deteriorated during the 1893 recession, the number of travellers declined, train companies stopped purchasing cars for their trains, and Pullman suddenly found himself having to cut costs. He laid off 1,500 workers and significantly cut the remaining workers’ pay. At the same time, however, he refused to lower the rents he was charging for living in company housing. This led to a volatile situation where workers were no longer making enough to pay for their rent. Some workers received paychecks worth pennies after their rent and utilities were deducted.

The workers decided to fight back, and organized a union which called for a strike in 1894. Eventually, the strikers were repressed by federal soldiers, and many were killed or imprisoned. The labor movement continued, however, and eventually led to better working conditions across the United States.

This short book effectively tells this story of workers rising against the capitalists who controlled the means of production, and the changes that occurred during and after the strike. Fans of history will enjoy the description of this conflict. Click on this link for more information about the Pullman Strike of 1894.

Walter Dean Myers

Hoover, Elizabeth. Walter Dean Myers. 2014. 96p. ISBN 978-1-4205-0859-8. Available at B MYE on the library shelves.

One of the most prolific young adult writers, Walter Dean Myers didn’t start out with the idea of writing. As a young boy, Myer’s father could not take care of him so he sent him to live with his first wife and her new husband. She was barely literate, but read to him every night from magazines, a habit he later picked up and continued. As an African-American youth, Myers was, as he said, “a demographic disaster waiting to happen,” and he was expected to find a menial low-paying job like the rest of the men of the neighborhood.

But Myers wanted more. He read voraciously, but hid this fact from his friends and family so he would not get picked on. A speech impediment was serious enough to prevent him from expressing himself, so he began to write. Not fitting in school, he eventually stopped going at all, and instead roamed the streets of Harlem.

Stuck in a dead-end job, Myers began to write, and a story was accepted for publication. Over the next decade, he established himself as a prolific and well-researched writer, who talks about his experiences growing up and what life was like in the neighborhoods where he grew up. Always pushing the envelope, Myers touched on controversial subjects, and published over 70 books.

An inspiration to many, Myer’s life is worth examining for the lessons in perseverance and on the craft of writing.

X: A Novel

Shabazz, Ilyasha with Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel. 2015. 348p. ISBN 978-0-7636-6967-6. Available at FIC SHA on the library shelves.

Malcolm Little lives in Lansing, Michigan, during the Depression. His father and mother were both strong advocates for the rights of Blacks, and told their many children they could accomplish anything they set their minds to. Marcus Garvey’s mantra, “Up, you mighty race,” illuminated their childhood. But all is not right in the 1930s Michigan, and as Malcolm grows up he realizes that his father’s preaching earn nothing but scorn and insults from the white folks that surround them.

His father has an “accident” when Malcolm is six, and his mother is hard pressed to help the family survive. She manages to hang on for seven long years before the government finally institutionalizes her and places all of the children in foster care. Malcolm is now on his own, and loses the little direction he had from his father. His English teacher in high school asks him what he wants to be, and when he replies he wants to become a lawyer the teacher laughs. A black man can’t be a lawyer!

Rudderless and lost, Malcolm is given the opportunity to move to Boston with his half-sister. There he discovers a whole new world where Blacks live together in their own neighborhoods, where they can dance and party away. Malcolm quickly succumbs to the night life and the easy money hustling various schemes.

As he sinks further in a life of crime, easy women, and easy money, Malcolm finds himself searching for more. It’s only when he finally gets arrested and gets sent to prison that Malcolm discovers the power of Garvey’s quote. He converts to Islam, changes his name to Malcolm X to reject the patronyme given to him by slavers, and joins the Nation of Islam.

Drawn from real events and written in part by his daughter, the story of Malcolm X’s youth is fascinating and demonstrates his growth from a petty and narcissistic criminal to a religious and political leader who was part of the Civil Rights movement. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy discovering an individual whose myth has now overwhelmed his real life.