These easy-to-read classroom plays are about 15 African American men and women in a variety of vocations. The plays are designed to enhance the curriculum and to make social studies come alive for the student as they bolster language-arts teaching. Each play includes a Teacher's Guide that contains some quotes from the featured person and a brief…

This biography for younger readers recounts the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the first black organizers of voter registration in Mississippi. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement while describing Hamer's life in Mississippi, her involvement in voter rights in 1962 at the age of 45, and her efforts as a civil rights…

This biography for younger readers describes the life of Malcolm X, the African American religious and political leader who was prominent in a movement to unite black people throughout the world. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement and documents Malcolm's role as an advocate for black separatism, black nationalism, and the…

This biography for younger readers depicts the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Nobel Peace Prize winner who dedicated himself to the struggle for equal rights for African Americans while embracing the principle of nonviolent resistance. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement and chronicles King's role as national leader…

This book explores the life of Maya Angelou, the author the autobiographical "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." The book details her life from the beginning in Stamps, Arkansas, and relates how she has overcome many obstacles throughout her life to become the successful, educated woman she is today--author, political activist, actress,…

This biography for younger readers examines the life of Thurgood Marshall, an important legal activist in the history of the civil rights movement and the first African American to be appointed a U.S. Supreme Court justice. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States while documenting the key role Marshall…

An overview of the achievements of black women in sports is presented in this collection of essays, biographical sketches, and philosophical investigations. The work is divided into five chapters, the first of which focuses on prejudice (racial and sexual), absence of black women as subjects in the research base, work/home/family pressures, black…

The nearly 300 biographical sketches in this dictionary focus on women who have made meaningful, although often unheralded, contributions to American history and culture. Although the collection concentrates on historical achievements, several women reflect contemporary accomplishments or historical firsts. The biographies span the time from…

This biography for younger readers describes the life of A. Philip Randolph, the civil rights activist who organized the labor union for Pullman car porters, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States while documenting the part Randolph played as advocate for African…

This biography for younger readers follows the life and career of Jesse Jackson, the African American civil rights worker who has twice sought a presidential nomination and continues to work for equal rights for all Americans. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States and describes Jackson's role as clergyman,…

Stories of more than 400 "firsts" by African Americans, break-through achievements in a variety of fields, are told in question-and-answer form ("Who was the first African American to ...?"). These are stories of people who were forced to contend with racism, directly or indirectly, in their struggle towards goals that require…

This book reviews the career of Rufus Ballard Atwood, who served as president of Kentucky State University from 1929 to 1962. The book describes how he was often chosen by whites to represent the African American community on boards and commissions and how these appointments gave him access to the state's political and educational power structure.…

The live and work of Zora Neale Hurston, an African American writer and a folklorist (1891-1960), are described for children aged 10 years and older. Emphasis is placed on the author's childhood in rural Florida and her struggles to receive an education. Over the course of her career, Hurston, a trained folklorist, collected two volumes of black…

This biography for young readers recounts in 10 chapters, the life of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and focuses on his life as a civil rights litigator who played a key role in the integration of education in the United States. Marshall's family history; boyhood and schooling in Baltimore (Maryland) and New York City; decision to attend…

This paper examines the scope and historical significance of biographies and autobiographies of ex-slaves. The document focuses primarily on accounts of black women published from 1820-1860, but also discusses several narratives from colonial times. Exploits of famous women slaves including Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth are analyzed along…