Yohuru Williams Boeken

"A nonfiction book for middle grade readers about the 1963 March on Washington for jobs and freedom"--

Focusing on the African American civil rights struggle, this book offers a clear narrative that synthesizes the complex history of the twentieth century. It examines both the Civil Rights and Black Power movements as interconnected facets of the broader Black Freedom struggle. The author explores their impact on various aspects of society, including housing, education, and labor, while situating the activism of the 1950s and 60s within a longer tradition spanning from Reconstruction to contemporary times.

An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.

A moving and inspiring picture book about James Weldon Johnson and the first mass all-Black march for civil rights in the United States when 10,000 Black protestors, including children, marched down New York’s Fifth Avenue

Controversy surrounded the Black Panthers from their founding in Oakland, California, in 1966. Labeled by J. Edgar Hoover as “the single greatest threat to the nation’s internal security,” the group has been both celebrated and vilified. This interdisciplinary collection offers a nuanced analysis of the Panthers, featuring contributions from historians and scholars in political science, sociology, and more. The essays explore the Panthers' revolutionary violence, radical ideology, urban politics, popular culture, and media representation. They examine the Panthers as distinctly American revolutionaries shaped by specific local conditions and interconnected with other movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. One contributor analyzes the legal foundations of the Panthers’ struggle, highlighting their engagement with the Constitution. Other essays delve into individual stories, including a former Panther wrongfully imprisoned for murder and an FBI agent tracking the Oakland branch. The collection also assesses the Panthers' relationships with groups like Students for a Democratic Society and the Young Lords, their use of revolutionary aesthetics, and the complex dynamics of media manipulation. This scholarly exploration reveals that the quest to understand the Black Panthers is just beginning.