Moving Forward: From space-age rides to civil rights sit-ins with airman Alton Yates by Chris Barton, illustrated by Steffi Walthall

Barton brings to life another little-known figure in the person of Alton Yates. Born in Florida in the 1930s, he experienced prejudice and racism, and heard the stories of his veteran neighbors who went to war for a country that refused to give them equal rights or even basic respect. But there were limited choices for a Black teenager in the 1950s, especially one from a big family who wanted an education, and Yates took a chance on joining the Air Force. Yates volunteered to work with Colonel John Paul Stapp in researching and exploring faster and faster speeds. When Yates’ grandmother died in 1959, he was honorably discharged from the military and returned home to help his family. Four years had given him an education, experience, and the respect of his fellow soldiers and superiors.

But when he crossed the state line back into Jim Crow territory, none of that mattered. He couldn’t buy gas or a sandwich or use the restroom. Despite his uniform, he wasn’t accorded even the most basic of human respect. When he finally arrived in Jacksonville, he was determined to enlist in a new battle and he joined the NAACP Youth Council at the age of twenty-three, working to organize teenagers and kids as young as thirteen to fight for their civil rights. Despite the dangers, they staged a sit-in at Woolworths and were attacked by a violent mob of white men with ax handles and baseball bats. The narrative breaks abruptly with a vicious red line running across a dark page, as Yates is struck down and then resumes fifty-seven years later with Barton interviewing Yates.

Surviving the attack, Yates moved forward as science moved forward to spaceflight, building on the research of Stapp and men like Yates, as civil rights moved forward to commemorating the work of Yates and others on the NAACP Youth Council in Florida. “Alton remains optimistic. From where he peacefully stands, that forward motion continues.” A timeline, sources, and quotes from Alton Yates are included in the back matter.

Verdict: Another excellent biography from Chris Barton; I am eager to introduce the powerful story of Alton Yates to my teachers and students and consider this a must-have choice for most libraries.

ISBN: 9781534473652; Published January 2022 by Beach Lane Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium