Brimmer, Larry Dane. Twelve Days In May.

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

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, describing its participants and the events that occurred as Riders on two buses traveled from Washington D.C. to New Orleans. The best page of this book for researchers is the one-page listing of participants, their ethnic backgrounds, and a short sentence on the background of each one. This feature enables easy reference when the events listing specific Riders' names are discussed. The resoluteness of their belief in desegregation as mandated by federal law, their ability to behave nonviolently, and the fierceness of their opponents are all vividly captured through photos and quotations. The 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 subsequent to their historic bus ride.     

Summary: 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.                                   

Civil Rights, Discrimination, Freedom Riders     --Lois McNicol