TV exposes brutality on the Selma March by Danielle Smith-Llera

This series shows major world events through the lens of television or photographs, showing how history was changed by people being able to see these moments. It could lead to an interesting discussion about modern news, whether seeing a constant stream of atrocities, injustice, and crimes has desensitized people to these things, and if there's any way to responsibly and realistically handle the seemingly constant frightening and negative events. Anyways, it's a thought.

This particular title marks a turning point in the Civil Rights movement. Black citizens had been struggling for years to regain the right to vote, after they lost the rights they gained after the Civil War. When Union soldiers were removed from the South, conditions for black citizens immediately deteriorated and poll taxes, literacy tests, and eventually Jim Crow laws were imposed. The rest of the nation took little note of the struggles of black citizens to regain their basic rights until March 7, 1965. On Bloody Sunday, people across the nation were watching a movie on the Holocaust when a news anchor interrupted the program with a real-life horror, the attack of state troopers on peaceful marchers in Selma, Alabama.

Footage of the brutal attack brought the struggle for Civil Rights into the homes of white people who had hitherto ignored the (limited) news coverage and made the fight for basic rights, by American citizens, a cause that could not be ignored. The book covers the general story, the background that led up to the march, and the individual stories of people like Amelia Boynton, Hosea Williams, and John Lewis. It also covers the reporters who tried, against violent opposition, to cover the march and following attacks. The book continues with the aftermath of the march, the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, Martin Luther King's continued efforts to peacefully lead the Civil Rights movement. Additional information talks about preserving the footage of these events and current restrictions on voting, showing that the struggle is not yet finished.

A timeline, glossary, and index are included. There are also suggestions for additional reading and discussion questions.

I previewed some of the titles from this series with fifth graders and the response was immediate. The visceral punch of seeing these events from history, rather than just reading about them, is immediate. The idea of framing an historical event around the television or photographic coverage makes these events real and relatable to the kids and it's well-written, honest but not more graphic than the events demand.

Verdict: I have been slowly collecting the titles from this series since their initial popularity; the library bound titles are expensive, but definitely worth the cost and this series, featuring events shown on television, is definitely an important acquisition for school or public libraries wanting to introduce middle grade readers to history.

ISBN: 9780756560010; Published September 2019 by Capstone; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library