Spotlight on Non-Fiction
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
Rosa Parks left her mark on history during the Civil Rights Movement. But, do you know the story of Claudette Colvin? Let’s shine the spotlight on this informational book:
Summary
Claudette Colvin grew up in Alabama when racial segregation was the way of life. As a teenager, racial injustices caught her attention and drew her into action.
Claudette did not want to accept the injustices around her. She took a stand for her constitutional right when she refused to give up her seat for a white person on a city bus. Claudette was taken to jail. When she was released, she was connected with other activists like E.D. Nixon and Rosa Parks of the NAACP and Fred Grey, one of two African American lawyers in Montgomery. She gained approval within the community for her action, but she also faced widespread criticism for this bold move. A judge ruled she was guilty of violating the segregation law, disturbing the peace and assaulting police officers. Her conviction was appealed and the assault charge was upheld.
After Claudette’s lead, another teenager named Mary Louise Smith stood up to a bus driver. Then, the NAACP activist named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Rosa was embraced by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., E.D. Nixon and Fred Grey as a leader during these difficult times. These events led the African American community to stand together against bus segregation. They enacted a bus boycott in Montgomery where they refused to use the bus system for transportation.
In addition to the bus boycott, a second front was developed by the African American community to fight against racial segregation. This came in the form of a lawsuit against Montgomery and Alabama for bus segregation. Claudette was selected by lawyers to tell her story in court in order to make a case against the city and state. The lawsuit led to the abolishment of segregated bus seating.
Racial tensions continued in the city of Montgomery. Many wondered if it would ever be a safe place to live. During these trying times, Claudette became pregnant and was asked to leave her high school. Many speculated her baby’s father was a white male, which was untrue. As a pregnant teenager, she was shunned by her peers and by the community. After testifying in court during the lawsuit, she heard about the decision to abolish bus segregation on the news. None of the people with whom she had worked closely to flight against racial injustices reached out to her. However, she understood why Rosa Parks was chosen to represent the Civil Rights Movement.
Discussion
Hoose’s book is a detailed social history. It shares the perspective of the people who dealt with the difficult times in the south during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Hoose weaves in and out of historical details and Claudette Colvins’s personal account of the events surrounding the bus boycott and lawsuit. Primary source documents and photographs fill the pages of this social history. They bring life to a time in history readers may or may not have experienced. Adolescent readers and adults will be drawn in by the documents, photographs and perspectives shared throughout the book.
Hoose collaborated with Claudette Colvin to write this book. Claudette shared her personal stories through interviews. Hoose read aloud the whole text to Claudette and allowed her to make changes in order to accurately convey the events and emotions of the times. Hoose visited specific places on his own, like Claudette’s neighborhood, to aid in his accuracy of his writing. In the Bibliography, Hoose (2009) shares how he consulted “hundreds of Web sites, articles, and books” to write his book (p. 109). His bibliography is broken down into the books, articles and websites he found most helpful. He also provides a list of sources for his quoted material and picture credits. He provides extensive details related to his research and preparation in writing this book. Readers can trust in his accuracy.
The sequence of this book is clearly organized. The book includes a Table of Contents. The first part of the book, First Cry, details Claudette’s family life, her school experiences, the incident on the bus, the bus boycott and the lawsuit. Part Two, Playing for Keeps, details the trial. Part One and Part Two are framed with a quote. Each chapter also has a title and a quote.
Claudette’s personal vignettes are identified with her name in bold capital letters and a colon. A page break between her accounts and the historical discussion distinguish the shifts for the reader. The primary source documents and pictures include some captions. Otherwise, the words within the text allow the reader to make sense of the documents or pictures. Additional information is framed out in a text box on the side of a page. These text boxes expand on details presented in the text. The boxes have a black background and use white letters for the text. The end of the book includes an Epilogue, Author’s Note, Bibliography, Notes, Acknowledgements, Picture Credits and Index.
The design of the book allows for the primary source documents to enhance the reading. The pages used to distinguish the beginning of part one and the start of part two are done in an all black background with white letters. The documents and photographs are displayed in black and white. Throughout the book, the primary source documents and photographs are striking. They give the reader a sense of the reality experienced by people living in the south in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
The style of the book is more than simply a book of facts. It is unique in the way it details Claudette’s perspective along with the historical information while layered with primary source documents. The reader can feel Claudette’s emotions when reading her first hand account of her experiences. Hoose selected meaningful quotes to frame each of the two parts within the book, as well as each chapter. Hoose’s passion for providing a thorough account of history is clear.
Overall, the strength in this book is the way Hoose weaves historical events together with Claudette’s personal stories, primary source documents and pictures. Readers will be drawn into the details of this story revealing a major piece of history involving Claudette, which they may not be familiar.
Awards/Reviews
Phillip Hoose has received many honors for his nonfiction books for young readers. He was a National Book Award Finalist. He won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Nonfiction, the Christopher Award and the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award. He was a National Book Award Finalist in 2001.
This book earned him the Newbery Honor, Robert F. Sibert Honor, Booklist Editors’ Choice, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and the National Book Award.
Here are samples of a few reviews:
“Hoose’s book, based in part on interviews with Colvin and people who knew her, finally gives her the credit she deserves.” – The New York Times
“This exceptional title…is part historical account, part memoir, (and) shows the incredible difference that a single young person can make, even as it demonstrates the multitude of interconnected lives that create and sustain a political movement.” - Booklist
“Hoose fashions a compelling narrative that balances the momentous events of the civil rights movement with the personal crises of a courageous young woman…Vivid and dramatic.” – The Horn Book
“Well-written and engaging…Outstanding.” – School Library Journal
Students could discuss the similarities and differences between Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. A Double Bubble Map could be used to document ideas.
Students could select either the perspective of Rosa and write a letter to Claudette or Claudette and write a letter Rosa. What would one woman communicate to the other one in her letter?
Students could develop a timeline of significant events in Claudette’s life. A larger timeline of the Civil Rights Movement could also be developed.
Quotes from the beginning of each chapter could be distributed to students. Students could write about the meaning of the quote and how it connects to the chapter where Hoose included it.
Bibliographic Information
Hoose, Phillip. 2009. Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN-13: 978-0-374-31322-7.
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