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Description
A singular, richly illustrated picture book biography of Bayard Rustin, the gay Black man behind the March on Washington of 1963, by the acclaimed authors of Unspeakable: the Tulsa Race Massacre and Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag.
On August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million activists and demonstrators from every corner of the United States convened for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was there and then that they raised their voices in unison to call for racial and economic justice for all Black Americans, to call out inequities, and ultimately to advance the Civil Rights Movement.
Every movement has its unsung heroes: individuals who work in the background without praise or accolades, who toil and struggle without notice. One of those unsung heroes was at the center of some of the most important decisions and events of the Civil Rights Movement.
That hero was a quiet man, a gay African American man. He was Bayard Rustin.
Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders's A Song for the Unsung, featuring illustrations from artist Byron McCray, is an inspiring story that answers one of our nation's greatest calls to action by honoring one of the men who made it happen.
Publication date
November 08, 2022
Genre
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781250779502
Publisher
Henry Holt & Company
BISAC categories
JNF018010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - African-American JNF007110 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Social Activists JNF025210 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | United States/20th Century JNF053080 - Juvenile Nonfiction | LGBT
Library of Congress categories
History African Americans Civil rights workers United States Civil rights movements 20th century Civil rights Race relations African American civil rights workers Washington (D.C.) Rustin, Bayard Songs and music Civil rights demonstrations
Publishers Weekly
Boston Weatherford and Sanders detail the often unsung contributions of Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) to the civil rights movement in this picture book biography, which alternates his life story with pivotal scenes leading up to the 1963 March on Washington. Raised by his Black Quaker grandmother, Rustin witnesses her activism at an early age, including her offer of hospitality ("Young Bayard gave up his bed when well-known NAACP members stayed overnight"); by college, "Bayard had developed firm beliefs and a mighty singing voice," and begins fighting for equality through nonviolence. Subsequent spreads acknowledge Rustin as the organizer of the March on Washington, detail the prejudice he experienced as both a Black man and a gay man, and intersperse song titles linked to his actions ("Sing 'Every Time I Feel the Spirit' to keep the faith"). McCray's mixed-media illustrations include decorative papers and printed ephemera, giving the story visual depth that aligns with the layered telling. Extensive back matter concludes. Ages 6-10. (Nov.)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
A rare tribute to a heroic figure of the civil rights movement . . . McCray captures both a sense of the time's widespread turmoil and of the march's grand "mosaic of Americans" in collages that incorporate acrylics, scraps of newspaper, music, and decorated papers . . . Effectively raises the profile of an African American crusader who was stigmatized for more than his race alone.
Carole Boston Weatherford, a New York Times best-selling author and poet, was named the 2019 Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award winner. Her numerous books for children include the Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper; the Caldecott Honor Books Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, which was also a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book; the critically acclaimed Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, illustrated by Eric Velasquez; and the Newbery Honor Book BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, illustrated by Michele Wood. Carole Boston Weatherford lives in North Carolina. Carole Boston Weatherford, autora y poeta superventas del New York Times, fue nombrada ganadora del Premio de No Ficción del Washington Post-Children's Book Guild en 2019. Sus numerosos libros para niños incluyen al ganador del Premio de Autor Coretta Scott King Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, ilustrado por Floyd Cooper; los libros de Honor Caldecott Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, ilustrado por Kadir Nelson, y Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, ilustrado por Ekua Holmes, que también fue un libro de Honor Robert F. Sibert; el aclamado por la crítica Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, ilustrado por Eric Velasquez; y el libro de Honor Newbery BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, ilustrado por Michele Wood. Carole Boston Weatherford vive en Carolina del Norte.
