Because They Marched.

Freedman, Russell.  Because They Marched.  Holiday House  2014  83p  $20.00  ISBN 978-0-8234-2921-9  ms/hs  History  E-BN     

Newbery Medalist Russell Freeman has written a vivid account of the march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965.  Through compelling narrative and liberally illustrated with dozens of well-captioned, archival black-and-white photographs, Freeman chronicles the tensions that segregation in the South intensified in the 1960s.  Events such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s, voting rights march in January 1965, followed by the shooting of an unarmed demonstrator in February, triggered the March demonstration, which got off to a horrific beginning.  Law officers attacked peaceful demonstrators, which attracted widespread outrage and spurred civil-rights demonstrators to complete the march across Alabama at any cost.

Student readers and researchers will find this a carefully researched and useful volume.  Freeman clearly outlines the motivation and risks undertaken in seeking the basic right to vote.  Researchers will also appreciate the brief civil-rights timeline, handy index, source notes and selected bibliography.         

Summary: Freedman provides an account of a pivotal event in the history of civil rights: the march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Civil rights movement, Voting rights                  --Hilary Welliver