Brimmer, Larry Dane Twelve Days In May

Brimmer, Larry Dane            Twelve Days In May Boyd's Mills/Calkins Creek  2017   109p   18.95  978-1-62979-586-7            ms/hs             E-BN            

The first Freedom Ride, an effort to test federal laws enacted to reduce discrimination, in May 1961 comes alive with succinct descriptions of events, black and white photos and quotes of Freedom Riders and their opponents. Grades 5-12.          

This slim volume succinctly captures the background and reasons for the first Freedom Ride, an effort to test federal laws enacted to reduce racial discrimination, its participants and events that occurred as Riders on two buses travel from the Washington D.C. to New Orleans. The best page of this book for researchers is the one page listing of each participant, their race, and a short sentence of their background. This feature makes for easy reference when events listing specific Riders names are discussed. The resoluteness of their belief in desegregation as allowed by federal law, their ability to be nonviolent, and the fierceness of their opponents is all vividly captured through photos and quotations. A last chapter tells of the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, a precursor to the Freedom Rides, and provides an update on the lives of the first Freedom Riders after their historic bus ride.                                     McNicol(3),Lois          Civil Rights, 1960s, Discrimination, Freedom Riders