Locked Up for Freedom: Civil Rights Protesters at the Leesburg Stockade

Gr 6 Up—In the late summer of 1963, more than 30 African American girls were locked up in an abandoned stockade in Leesburg, GA. They ranged in age from 11–16 years old, and all had participated in some form of protest in relation to the growing civil rights movement. Schwartz dives deep into this particular episode, offering up first-person accounts of the circumstances leading to their imprisonment and the horrific conditions they endured at the stockade. Quotes from interviews and photographs are woven into the narrative, offering details about clogged toilets, bug-infested mattresses, and unhygienic living conditions. Schwartz makes clear that though many young people expected to, and did, go to jail for their participation in marches and protests, this specific situation was unique and particularly heinous because of the conditions and the length of time they were held—not to mention they had no contact with the outside world and their families were not informed of their whereabouts. Introductory chapters provide historical context, thus making this a solid choice for students learning about the civil rights movement. The writing is accessible and the accounts compelling.