Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961

A 2018 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Winner

On May 4, 1961, a group of thirteen black and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Ride, aiming to challenge the practice of segregation on buses and at bus terminal facilities in the South.

The Ride would last twelve days. Despite the fact that segregation on buses crossing state lines was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1946, and segregation in interstate transportation facilities was ruled unconstitutional in 1960, these rulings were routinely ignored in the South. The thirteen Freedom Riders intended to test the laws and draw attention to the lack of enforcement with their peaceful protest. As the Riders traveled deeper into the South, they encountered increasing violence and opposition. Noted civil rights author Larry Dane Brimner relies on archival documents and rarely seen images to tell the riveting story of the little-known first days of the Freedom Ride. With author's note, source notes, bibliography, and index.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Calkins Creek Books
Published: 10/24/2017
ISBN: 9781629795867
Pages: 112
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 10.10h x 9.40w x 0.70d
Award: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award - Winner

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2017
Voice of Youth Advocates 08/01/2017 - Recommended - Hard To Beat
School Library Journal 09/01/2017 pg. 167
Publishers Weekly 09/18/2017
Booklist 10/15/2017 pg. 38
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2017 pg. 118
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2018 - Superior,Well Above Average

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 194620 / Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961
Reading Level: 7 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 2