Boycotts, Marches, and Strikes: Protests of the Civil Rights Era

Gr 6-9–This visually appealing title details the pivotal marches, boycotts, and strikes of the civil rights era. The Montgomery bus boycott, the Vietnam War resistance, the Delano grape strike, the Stonewall Riots, and Women’s Equality Day are explained in five chapters, which contain a balance of text, illustrations, photographs, definitions (i.e., protest, activist, Jim Crow laws), and critical thinking questions. Diggs spotlights lesser-known activists, such as David Ruggles (an African American abolitionist of the 1820s) and Dolores Huerta (an American labor activist who cofounded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez). The text does an excellent job of connecting the events of the civil rights era to present-day leaders and social movements, such as Colin Kaepernick and Black Lives Matter. At the end of each chapter, readers are encouraged to reflect on what they’ve read. Each chapter also offers a suggested project, such as designing a protest flag. QR codes featured throughout the text provide access to more information about a particular topic or individual. A glossary, additional resources, a bibliography, and an index round out this solid nonfiction title.