Bunchland

Viola Desmond, Canadian Civil Rights pioneer

Viola Desmond went to the movie theatre in 1946 where there were different sections for white people and black. Since she couldn’t see from the balcony, the area that the theatre designated for black people, she instead sat on the floor in the white section. She was hauled away from the movie theatre, jailed and fined. Ultimately, she was charged with tax evasion since the difference between a white person’s ticket and a black person’s ticket was one cent.

She fought the charge in court, but the court never overturned the conviction.

Desmond died in 1965 in New York. In April 2010, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia granted her a posthumous free pardon and apologized for the province’s behavior all those years ago.  According to one article, some members of Desmond’s family were upset with the decision, as if a pardon removes the offense from the record like it never happened, instead wanting all Canadian students to know all about Desmond’s battle for justice.  Read more...

To commemorate this holiday, here’s a round-up of our finest stuff on the iconic civil rights activist

Without fail, social movements inspire art. Ella Jenkins started making music when the civil rights movement was still new. Her 50 year career came to earn her the title of “First Lady of the Children’s Folk Song” . Featuring many soulful African American spirituals, her work honors the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. We recommend “Wade in the Water” from her 1960 album African American Folk Rhythms. Give her a listen!

Picture book biographies, folk painting portraits, and a guest appearance from King’ s older sister: our MLK inspired Bunchbrary includes 14 stellar reads for all ages. Books are a great way to open up discussion about racism, segregation and standing up for your rights.  Read more...

The New York Public Library and the District of Columbia Public Library’s Bunchbrary

We’ve bumped this week’s Bunchbrary up a day to include some great reads for Martin Luther King Day. Martin Luther King Day is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about racism, segregation and standing up for your rights.

Books for ages 4-8:

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler, illustrated by Robert Casilla
A brief, illustrated, biography of the Baptist minister and civil rights leader whose philosophy and practice of nonviolent civil disobedience helped American blacks win many battles for equal rights.

Martin Luther King by Rosemary L. Bray, paintings by Malcah Zeldis
Folk-art paintings enhance the text of this portrait of the courageous civil rights leader.  Read more...

We talked to New York Public Library children’s librarian Betsy Bird

What should parents do to teach their kids more about MLK and Civil Rights?

Reading books is the number one best way. Ask your local libraries for the best books as there are always new ones coming out. Use the day off as an opportunity to talk to your kids and make sure they know their own history. But the bottom line is, just do it. Some parents are uncomfortable talking about what people had to put up with before Civil Rights. And there are a lot of violent images associated with the Civil Rights Movement— police setting dogs and fire hoses on peaceful protesters, Dr. King’s assassination, but these are important points of our history.

How do you introduce the topic of Civil Rights to kids?  Read more...