Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Weaving contemporary actors with heralded legacies, this volume profiles Black Americans who represent the unfinished struggle to envision and realize freedom and equality for all."The history we learn about in school is a battleground," offer Dyson and Favreau, responding to the contemporary climate of legislation attempting to reshape how U.S. history is taught. This collection represents the work of two notable experts who pull no punches in expressing that these current challenges entail a Whitewashing of history by people who "believe that some knowledge is so dangerous that it should be kept from you at all costs." They present snapshots of post-Reconstruction history cemented by strong, transparent source notes. This reader includes chapters on, among other topics, struggles for housing, education, and economic empowerment and against environmental racism. Patterns emerge that weave together notable forerunners and themes from the past with contemporary campaigns and newsmakers: John Carlos and Tommie Smith with Colin Kaepernick, Fannie Lou Hamer with Stacey Abrams, Malcolm X with Michelle Alexander, and Ida B. Wells with Nikole Hannah Jones. The authors invite youth to see themselves in the unfinished business of making "genuine equality a reality for all Americans." This accessible, riveting collection will inspire readers to claim responsibility for helping to ensure that the U.S. one day lives up to its most ethical professed ideals.Grounded in evidence and optimistic: uplifts the social power of studying Black American freedom fighters. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

ALA Booklist (Thu Aug 04 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

This book's purpose is to ensure that important events in American history are not forgotten or suppressed ecifically stories about racial inequalities and atrocities leveled against African American individuals and communities. The text revisits 20 pivotal events, recreating what happened in real time, adding social and political context along with explanations of how mainstream accounts often distorted what actually took place. The accounts also include jarring details (in courts, Black and white people swore on segregated bibles; southern postal workers scribbled out honorifics like Mr. and Mrs. on mail intended for African Americans). Events are tied to notable people ranging from Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. to more obscure pioneering advocates, like Ossian Sweet and Yusef Salaam. The book's afterword maintains that these past events foreshadow present-day disinformation campaigns, and stresses that to change the future it's necessary to understand the past. Copious chapter notes and further reading suggestions help document these more rounded versions of American history and will hopefully inspire young audiences to seek transparency and equality in their own futures.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Weaving contemporary actors with heralded legacies, this volume profiles Black Americans who represent the unfinished struggle to envision and realize freedom and equality for all."The history we learn about in school is a battleground," offer Dyson and Favreau, responding to the contemporary climate of legislation attempting to reshape how U.S. history is taught. This collection represents the work of two notable experts who pull no punches in expressing that these current challenges entail a Whitewashing of history by people who "believe that some knowledge is so dangerous that it should be kept from you at all costs." They present snapshots of post-Reconstruction history cemented by strong, transparent source notes. This reader includes chapters on, among other topics, struggles for housing, education, and economic empowerment and against environmental racism. Patterns emerge that weave together notable forerunners and themes from the past with contemporary campaigns and newsmakers: John Carlos and Tommie Smith with Colin Kaepernick, Fannie Lou Hamer with Stacey Abrams, Malcolm X with Michelle Alexander, and Ida B. Wells with Nikole Hannah Jones. The authors invite youth to see themselves in the unfinished business of making "genuine equality a reality for all Americans." This accessible, riveting collection will inspire readers to claim responsibility for helping to ensure that the U.S. one day lives up to its most ethical professed ideals.Grounded in evidence and optimistic: uplifts the social power of studying Black American freedom fighters. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Dyson and Favreau examine significant moments of injustice and inequality throughout U.S. history in this crucial nonfiction volume, which posits that “the first step to changing the world... is to understand what has come before.” Blending stories of historic Black activists with those of today’s prominent movers and shakers, the creators shed light on the changemakers of America’s history and explore how inequality affects every aspect of society, from housing laws to healthcare. The authors “have a hard time imagining that anyone would want to make history illegal in the United States of America,” and use each chapter to highlight a historical event not often taught in classrooms, such as Ossian Sweet breaking the housing color line in 1925 Detroit, and James Meredith integrating the University of Mississippi in 1960. The creators also tie each historic moment to a contemporary counterpart, including Stacey Abrams fighting voter disenfranchisement, as well as legislation seeking to replace real-life history with “more patriotic views” in America’s curriculum. This searing look at