Civil Rights Historical Fiction

Mahalia Jackson was known as the queen of gospel music. A close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s, she was also a civil rights activist who sang at the March on Washington. And she traveled the world, too! Experience all the inspiring moments in Mahalia's big life in this thrilling biography, packed with fun facts, like who invented rock and roll! Short and engaging chapters are interspersed with special lists and other information made to order to engage kids, whether they're already biography fans or "have to" write a report for school.

Mississippi, the late 1950s. On his eleventh birthday, Jory Sheppard runs away from everything he’s ever known. With his father gone and an uncertain future in foster care ahead, Jory sets off down the Mississippi River—only to be caught in a dangerous storm. Just when it seems all hope is lost, he’s rescued by an old African American man named Moses. Taken in by Moses and his family, Jory finds himself in a world unlike the one he left behind. Surrounded by kindness, love, and unfamiliar traditions, Jory begins to grow—but so does his awareness of the injustice around him. In a ...

Meet Juniper Hawthorne, a wide-eyed idealist determined to spread love and unity. On the same bus, you’ll find Clancy Beaumont, a smooth-talking businessman seeking profit, and Lola Devereaux, a performer chasing dreams of stardom. Hank, stoic and guarded, and Daisy, rooted in tradition, carry their own secrets.

Jackie is a poor boy from Harlem and the victim of abuse from his widowed, alcoholic father. But everything changes on the day he discovers the power of comedy. When his classmates make fun of his tattered clothes, Jackie turns everything around by freely poking fun at himself and soon has everyone on the floor with laughter. His amazing talent, and raging ambition, take him through the local club circuit to become the most sought after comedic entertainer in opulent, '50s Las Vegas and beyond.

Dovey Johnson Roundtree was most famous for her successful defense of an indigent Black man accused of the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer, a prominent White Washington, DC, socialite, in 1965. Despite her triumph in this high-profile case, Roundtree continued to represent the poor and the underserved. She was the first lawyer to bring a bus-desegregation case before the Interstate Commerce Commission, clinching the ruling that enabled Robert F. Kennedy to enforce bus integration. She was also among the first Black women to enter the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.