Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman

Everyone has heard of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith? They were teenagers who, like Rosa Parks, refused to give up their seats on the bus. Freedom Walkers is the story of all four of these people, and thousands of others who came together to fight injustice. For over a year the African American people of Montgomery, Alabama refused to ride city buses. Many were poor and had to get to jobs that were miles away, but they walked and car pooled and got to work some other way. At night they came together at meetings throughout the city where they inspired and encouraged each other to continue the nonviolent struggle. There were bombings, people went to jail, and it took a long time to win, but they did. I read this book and admired these people--even wished I could have been one of them just to be a part of something so big and so right. Russell Freedman is an outstanding writer--if you want to know more about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, this is the book to read.