There Comes A Time: The Struggle for Civil Rights
Cassandra's Reading Corner

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Meltzer, Milton. 2001. There Comes A Time: The Struggle for Civil Rights. Landmark Books. New York: ISBN: 0375904077

 

"But the freedom movement didn't start on that one day. No, that day was just another stage in the long, long struggle of African-Americans for full citizenship, for equality, for justice, for their simple human rights- a struggle that goes back more than 300 years."

 

Renowned historian and author, Milton Meltzer chronicles the civil rights struggles of African Americans beginning with slavery to Martin Luther King Jr's death in Memphis, TN in 1968.   The author offers a detailed overview of the movement featuring significant milestones such as the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision and Martin Luther King's delivery of his famous I Have a Dream speech.  There Comes a Time is filled with facts and offers young readers a concise thorough account of historical events that changed our nation. Meltzer begins in North Carolina with four brave young men staging a sit-in at Woolworths. Throughout the book, Meltzer focuses on the countless individuals who contributed and made supreme sacrifices to better our nation. From Rosa Parks to Malcolm X and Thurgood Marshall, Meltzer's book features most of the significant figures of the movement. He also effectively communicates the struggle involved many people from various backgrounds- black, white, young and old.

 

Milton Meltzer has received numerous awards for his nonfiction writing. The Horn Book describes him as a seasoned historian. Meltzer's account of the civil rights struggle is extremely thorough. Young readers will definitely appreciate There Comes a Time for its simple language and thought provoking text. With chapters such as The Problem of the Twentieth Century and Where Now?, young people will be discussing this book long after the last page is read!  In an effort to promote further study, Melzter offers a detailed civil rights timeline and bibliography. The illustrations complement the text and give readers extremely realistic images of the events that occurred during this time period.

 

Young readers will appreciate There Comes a Time, and the book should be in every middle school history classroom!

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