50 Inspiring Books on Girls and Women of the Civil Rights Movement

The Story Of Ruby Bridges

To kids today, the idea of a child having to be escorted to school by armed guards to protect her from an angry mob is shocking, but 6-year-old Ruby Bridges faced exactly that in 1960. After a judge ordered that Ruby should attend the previously all-White William Frantz Elementary School, parents withdrew their children and held angry protests in front of the school. This compelling depiction of the child who became a civil rights hero just by attending first grade is now available in a special anniversary edition, which includes an updates afterword about Ruby's ongoing life and legacy. Independent readers can learn more about Ruby Bridges in Ruby Bridges Goes to School for ages 5 to 8 and Through My Eyes for ages 8 to 12.

I Am Rosa Parks

When kids hear about Rosa Parks' defiant refusal to move seats, they may think that it takes special courage to take that big a step — but the reality is that ordinary people can do incredible things! This title from Brad Meltzer's Ordinary People Change The World series shows how Parks' willingness to stand up for justice began with small moments from childhood, but became a driving force in her life that made her a major figure for the Civil Rights movement. It also shows just how much resistance she had to face along the way. It's an excellent choice to introduce younger kids to this Civil Rights hero.

Ruby Bridges Goes To School

Ruby Bridges was just six years old when she walked through an angry crowd, escorted by federal marshals, to integrate an all-white school in New Orleans — by starting kindergarten. In this early reader, Bridges aptly tells her story to her young audience and accents it with historical photographs, allowing emerging readers to develop an understanding of segregation and to explore an iconic moment in the struggle for civil rights. It's an inspiring story about a courageous girl, told in her own voice! For a picture book telling of Bridges' story, check out The Story of Ruby Bridges for ages 4 to 8.

Let the Children March

In Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, thousands of children joined the ranks of civil rights protestors in the Children's Crusade. One fictional girl reveals how many restrictions were placed on African Americans: everything from water fountains to playgrounds were off limits. She remembers the furious white onlookers and police officers who met their protest with violence and hate. Despite it all, though, the children stood together: "Our march made the difference," she proclaims proudly. This vivid telling of an important moment in Civil Rights history reminds kids that they, too, can make a difference.

Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader

When Ida B. Wells was born in 1862, she and her family were still enslaved — so she knew just how important freedom was. When she was only 16, her parents died, and she took on the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings. But she had big dreams for her future, and built a career as a journalist and newspaper owner. And she was the person who spoke up about the real motivations for lynching — even when facing threats to her own life. Told in a compelling personal voice by Wells' great-granddaughter Michelle Duster, and featuring multitextured art by Coretta Scott King Award Honoree artist Laura Freeman, this powerful profile captures Wells' determination, hope, and constant quest for justice.

The Case for Loving: The Fight For Interracial Marriage

Kids will be shocked to learn that there was a time when it was illegal to marry someone with a different skin color. Mildred Loving and Richard Perry Loving had been in love for years, but when they moved back to their hometown after getting married, they were arrested. In this charming picture book, author Selina Alko follows the Lovings as they marry, get arrested, and then dare to challenge these unjust laws — all the way to the Supreme Court. Mixed media illustrations capture the love of this adoring couple, as well as their strength as they defied prejudice.

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist

Audrey was only 9 years old, but that didn't mean she didn't listen when the grown-ups talked about wiping out Birmingham's segregation laws. So when she heard them say that they were going to picket those white stores! March to protest those unfair laws! Fill the jails! — she stepped right up and said, "I'll do it!" This picture book biography of the youngest person to be arrested for a civil rights protest in Birmingham will encourage kids to think about how they can make a difference on the issues that matter to them.

You Should Meet: Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was determined to be "unbossed and unbought": she was going to fight for change, no matter what! She became the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1968, and four years later, she became the first African American woman to run for president under one of the two big political parties. She may not have won, but she knew what was most important was that everyone across the country saw her, and started to realize that what mattered most wasn't whether you were male or female, or Black or White, but whether you had the ability to be a leader. This book from the You Should Meet early reader series is perfect for newly independent readers to learn about this trailblazing politician! For a picture book about Chisholm, we recommend She Was The First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm for ages 5 to 9.

The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne

Even as a child, Ethel Payne loved hearing stories — and the best ones were the true ones. Her English teacher encouraged her writing, and her chance came when she got a job as a correspondent in Japan for a Chicago newspaper. An article she wrote about discrimination in the military made nationwide news, and soon she was breaking all kinds of gender and racial barriers for women in journalism. She wasn't afraid to ask the tough questions — even once she received a White House press pass — and it wasn't long before she was known as the "First Lady of the Black Press." This is an inspiring story of a woman who defied expectation and dedicated herself to truth and progress.

Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement

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Growing up in Chicago in the 1940s, Diane Nash didn't know how how segregation could affect everyday life. It wasn't until she visited the Tennessee State Fair in 1959 as a university student that she saw how much of an impact it had in the South. So Diane connected with other university students — including student preacher John Lewis — and took charge of the Nashville Movement. She lead them with powerful words and nonviolent actions of protest, once leading thousands of marchers to the Nashville courthouse to convince the mayor to integrate lunch counters. She joined the Freedom Rides to integrate interstate buses. And she gained support from luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. This illuminating picture book introduces young readers to one of the strongest voices of the Civil Rights Movement in a powerful tribute to this courageous leader.

Lizzie Demands A Seat! Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights

Elizabeth Jennings lived in New York, a "free state" where slavery was outlawed — but that didn't mean she was equal. That truth became shockingly clear one day in 1854 when she was in a rush for church. She boarded a streetcar, only to be ordered off by the conductor because it was a "Whites only" car. When she refused to leave, she was thrown off the streetcar. Jennings decided to take her case to court — complete with testimony from a White witness — and won the first legal victory for equal rights on public transportation. This compelling picture book about Jennings' famous case also features back matter about how Jennings' case set a precedent for future battles, including Rosa Parks' future transit protest.

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

Throughout American history, there were bold, daring Black women who broke all expectations and boundaries to make the world a better place! In this engaging picture book, author/illustrator Vashti Harrison introduces young readers to forty trailblazing women, including abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash. This inspiring book, filled with stunning full-page illustrations of each of the featured women, reminds young readers that every great leader began as a little leader, taking their first steps towards something big. Fans of Harrison's work can check out the sequel, Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around The World, or the Leaders and Dreamers box set, which includes both books. Younger readers can also enjoy the board book Dream Big, Little One for ages 2 to 5.

Who Was Rosa Parks?

The "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" gets her own entry in the popular Who Was...? biography series This accessible biography introduces the influences in Rosa Parks' life that led her to devote her life to the cause of civil rights. Useful sidebars and timelines help kids understand both Parks' work and the overarching progress of the Civil Rights movement. Engaging and accessible, it's a great way to introduce middle grade readers to this inspiring figure. For more books about Parks, visit our Rosa Parks Collection.

Who Was Ida B. Wells?

When Ida B. Wells was born in 1862, slavery was still legal; she was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1865. But just because slavery had ended didn't mean things were fair. The intelligent girl saw injustice all around her, and she was determined to end it. As a journalist, she drew the world's attention to the horrors of lynching and other prejudices based on race and sex. As an activist, she helped cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and she marched as a suffragist, too! This exciting book from the Who Was...? biography series introduces middle grade readers to Wells' life as a civil rights activist, anti-lynching campaigner, and pioneering journalist.

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day

As a child, Kathlyn J. Kirkwood was drawn to activism, particularly to the Civil Rights Movement. As a teenager, she attended protests where she, like many others, drew courage from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s example. When King was assassinated, it would have been easy to lose hope, but Kathlyn and millions of others persevered... and they were also determined that King's memory would not be forgotten. In addition to their fight for justice, they now had a new cause: ensuring that King's birthday was marked with a national holiday. This powerful memoir-in-verse is both a coming of age story and a unique look at history in the making — one which will show young readers that ordinary people working together is what really changes the world.

Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration

When the Little Rock Nine defied their state's governor to integrate Central High, Elizabeth Eckford didn't get the message to meet the group — so she faced entering the school alone. A local photographer snapped an iconic photograph of a girl jeering at Elizabeth as she stoically walked through the protesting crowd, and that photograph focused the world's attention — and disapproval — on Little Rock's resistance to desegregation. Shelley Tougas' tale of determination and bravery ends with an important postscript to the story: decades later, Elizabeth and Hazel Bryan Massery, the screaming girl in the picture, met and achieved a reconciliation. Touching and heartwrenching, this book captures the power of a single person's photograph to bring change.

The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights

Marian Anderson never intended to become a symbol of equal rights; she just knew that she had to sing. But in the 1920s and 1930s, social constraints limited the careers of Black performers. Anderson's voice, though, could not be silenced and she achieved international acclaim despite segregation in the arts. But thanks to the help of influential admirers — including Eleanor Roosevelt — her landmark concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 signaled a change for this history of art. This well-researched and expertly told book includes a bibliography, a discography, and an excellent examination of the cultural and social context of Anderson's life turned her into a civil rights icon.

This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality

When Jo Ann Allen joined the Clinton 12 — twelve African-American students who integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee — things seemed easy at first... but as time went on, there was unrest, anger, and even violence. Clever and popular Jo Ann became the spokesperson for the group, always aware that she and her peers were fighting for a critical change to the nation's education system. In this novel in verse, she tells her story, reminding readers that court-ordered integration was a double-edged sword ("We’re in, yes./ But it’s more complicated than that") but conveys a message of hope in a future of true racial equality.

Brown v. Board of Education

A Fight for Simple Justice

1954's Brown vs. Board of Education was a critical ruling in the desegregation of US schools — but getting there was a long road. The name on the case came from the family of Linda Brown, a black third-grader refused entry to an all-white Topeka, Kansas, school, but there were many additional families involved, including children in South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Award-winning author Susan Goldman Rubin explores the complex history behind this key court decision, as well as the modern, not fully desegregated, school system. This compelling account will open young readers' eyes to the work — and sacrifice — behind the case that's often forgotten.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin did the same — but instead rather than receiving support, she found herself shunned by classmates and dismissed by community leaders. And yet she remained determined to effect change, and a year later, she challenged Jim Crow laws again by becoming one of the key plaintiffs in Browder vs. Gayle, a landmark court case. This National Book Award winner shines a light on an important but little-known figure from Civil Rights history.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Young Readers)

You probably think you know Rosa Parks' story: on a day when she was tired, she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus, setting off the Montgomery bus boycott and a critical Civil Rights Movement win. But that's not the real story! Parks was a long-time activist who made a deliberate, strategic decision... and paid the price for her public defiance of Jim Crow laws. In this young readers edition of the award-winning The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, young people can learn the true story of Parks' lifelong devotion to equality — and be inspired to fight for it themselves.

Warriors Don't Cry

A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

Melba Patillo turned sixteen in 1957, the same year that she became an unwitting warrior for desegregation. As one of the Little Rock Nine, she faced a firestorm of opposition as she entered the previously all-white Central High. In a harrowing ordeal, Melba faced everything from taunts to threats to an attack with acid that injured her eyes, but she never gave up her courage or her dignity. "Searing" is exactly the right description for this affecting story of friendship, faith, and personal commitment, and young adult readers will be shocked to learn just how hard African American teens had to fight for their right to receive an equal education.

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins

When Connie and her mother go shopping at Woolworth's, they can have a soda as a treat — but they have to drink them standing up, since African Americans aren't allowed at the lunch counter. In fact, all over town there are signs telling Connie where she can't go. Then, one day, her father says that Dr. King is coming to town, and soon Connie gets to see her older brother and sister joining the sit-in protests, in hopes that someday, anyone can sit down where they please. Carole Weatherford perfectly captures a child's perspective, but still conveys an important message about the power of peaceful protest.

A Sweet Smell of Roses

A little girl and her sister sneak out of the house, down the street to where men and women are gathering for a protest march. In the air is the sweet smell of roses; in their minds, the sweet hope of justice and equality. Inspired by the many children who also participated in protests and marches, Johnson has written a poetic tribute to the spirit of optimism that pervaded the Civil Rights movement, perfectly accented with Velasquez' charcoal illustrations, where small pops of color illuminate key details like the ribbon on a teddy bear, the roses, and the American flag.

Lillian's Right To Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Today is election day, and nothing — not even the steep hill she has to climb to get to the polling station — will keep 100-year-old Lillian from placing her ballot. As she walks, she remembers the path through history that resulting in her path to the polls: her great-grandfather, voting for the first time after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment; her parents, trying and failing to register to vote; and her own participation, many years ago, in a protest march from Selma to Montgomery. This vivid story of one woman's determination provides an apt metaphor for the determination of those who fought for equal rights for all.

White Socks Only

In this story-within-a-story, a granddaughter listens raptly as her grandmother tells her a tale of the segregated South. As a child, she saw a water fountain labelled with a sign reading "Whites only." Innocently, she misinterpreted the sign to mean that she could only drink if she stood at the fountain in her white socks, so she kicked off her shoes... only to get pulled away by an angry white man, threatening to whip her. However, the African American adults nearby rallied to her aid, one by one kicking off their own shoes and taking their own deep drinks from the fountain. The depiction of segregation in this story is simplified to make it more accessible to young readers, but the message is clear: judging people by the color of their skin is as silly as judging them by the color of their socks.

Ruby Lee and Me

There's plenty of talk about the new sixth-grade teacher at Shady Creek. Mrs. Smyre is the first African American teacher in the town; it's 1969, and while black folks and white folks are cordial, having a black teacher at an all-white school is a strange new happening. For 12-year-old Sarah Beth, there are so many unanswered questions. What is all this talk about Freedom Riders and school integration? Why can't she and Ruby become best friends? And who says school isn't for anybody who wants to learn — or teach? In a world filled with uncertainty, one very special teacher shows her young students and the adults in their lives that change invites unexpected possibilities.

Remember: The Journey to School Integration

At the heart of battles against school segregation were children — children just like the ones in classrooms today. In this remarkable book by beloved author Toni Morrison, she uses archival photographs of the Civil Rights movement, most of them depicting the ordinary young people whose lives were so deeply affected. Alongside these images, she crafts dialogue that captures what these children, who carried so much on their shoulders, were feeling and experiencing. Morrison's vibrant fictional account of "separate but equal" schooling and the battle for integrated classrooms, published for the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, is a powerful way to teach kids about this important part of American history.

Night on Fire

Billie Simms may only be 13, but she is already determined to see an end to segregation in her hometown of Anniston, Alabama — even if few people agree with her. When she hears that the Freedom Riders will pass through Anniston, Billie hopes that the town will see the justice in their cause; instead, they show the depths of their racism and prejudice. With the buses about to move on, Billie has to decide what to do: stay safe at home, or join the cause she believes in so passionately. In addition to the presentation of historical events, this novel explores Billie's developing awareness of her own internalized racism, which provides an intriguing starting point for discussion about racial issues of today.

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It

Loretta Little is a sharecropper, picking cotton in the late 1920s; she had no idea that her niece will get to view the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement's fight for the vote. Told in three narratives — one by Loretta from 1927 to 1930, one by her brother Roly from 1942 to 1950, and one by Roly's daughter Aggie from 1962 to 1968, this novel brings the hardships facing African Americans to vivid life — poverty, racism, and violence — while also capturing the courage, dignity, and hope of each generation as they fight for a better future. With its innovative format and gorgeous spot illustrations, this is a one-of-a-kind novel that tells an important tale of U.S. history.

Revolution

In Greenwood, Mississippi in 1964, the adults all say they're "being invaded" — by people from up north coming to help voter registrations in something called the Freedom Summer. At first, Sunny doesn't even worry about that; she's caught up in her own invasion, a new stepmother and siblings pushing their way into her life. But a moment at a public pool opens her eyes to the racism that pervades her hometown, and soon Sunny is trying to figure out how she too can fight for what's right and fair. Real source materials — including an actual KKK pamphlet from the time period — drive home the viciousness that civil rights campaigners faced during the time period. Deborah Wiles, award-winning author of Countdown, tells a riveting story of kids who, in a world where everyone is choosing sides, must figure out how to stand up for themselves and fight for what's right.