Twelve Days In May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner (2017, Calkins Creek; 107 pages) This book tells the extraordinary story of thirteen activists - black and white, young and old, male and female - who, on May 4, 1961, decided to board two buses in Washington, D.C., for New Orleans, Louisiana. James Farmer, James Peck, Genevieve Hughes, Joseph ¨Joe¨ P. Perkins Jr., Walter Bergman, Frances Bergman, Albert Smith Bigelow, Jimmy McDonald, Edward ¨Ed¨ Blankenheim, Henry ¨Hank¨ Thomas, Charles Person, Benjamin Elton Cox, and John Lewis were their names. Their Freedom Ride would last just twelve days, but their mission was clear. The laws prohibiting segregation on buses crossing state lines and at bus stations were being violated. These Freedom Riders were determined to draw attention to the laws' lack of enforcement. What started as a peaceful protest turned violent as they traveled deeper into the South. “Each Freedom Rider had a small carry-on 'bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, and an inspiring book or two' just in case the unexpected included jail. Twenty-one-year-old John Lewis, one of the riders, has three books in his bag: 'one by [Catholic philosopher] Thomas Merton, another about Gandhi and the Bible.' One of the best nonfiction books of the year, Twelve Days in May brings to the reader the possibility of getting on that historic bus. With astonishing photographs in black and white, and a spectacular design, everything about the book is just extraordinary. Recommended to everybody, a must-read. Find this title in our catalog: Twelve Days In May Recommended by: Maite
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