We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin

by Larry Dane Brimner Narrated by Peter Jay Fernandez

Overview

You may never have heard of him, but you've probably heard of the many people civil rights activist Bayard Rustin influenced. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and refused to move to the back of the bus many years before Rosa Parks did. The son of a freed slave, Bayard Rustin grew up during the peak of the Jim Crow laws, which segregated blacks and whites. His own family was fairly well-off and hosted distinguished guests like Mary McLeod Bethune, but Bayard could not stand to hear the stories of blacks elsewhere who were treated with disrespect because of the color of their skin. He made it his life mission to change these ideas, and as a young man he began traveling the United States as an activist. Larry Dane Brimmer, a prolific and award-winning author of nonfiction for children, illuminates the story of this little-known but influential civil rights leader. "We are all one. And if we do not know it, we will learn it the hard way."-Bayard Rustin "A gem for students ... an excellent addition to any American history collection."-School Library Journal, starred review

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 6-10 This is a captivating biography of the man who has been called the "intellectual engineer" of the Civil Rights Movement. The book begins and ends with the March on Washington, August 28, 1963, which Rustin organized. His mentor was A. Philip Randolph and he was a lifelong adviser to Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin was a complex, multitalented man-he was a musician, an intellectual, an organizer, and a war objector who chose to go to prison rather than serve in World War II. He was a controversial figure partly because he was at one time a Communist and he was homosexual (the latter mentioned only in an author's note). Brimner keeps the focus on Rustin's work for social justice, including his being beaten and taken to the police station in 1942 for sitting at the front of a bus; his early restaurant sit-ins; and his Journey of Reconciliation, which was a precursor to the Freedom Rides. The author's writing is lively and clear, and he adeptly places Rustin in the larger context of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement. The attractive design, with large, clear, black-and-white photographs and plenty of white space, enhances the readability of the text. Red and blue bars emphasize important quotations, lyrics to spirituals, and some photo captions. A gem for students studying the Civil Rights Movement and an excellent addition to any American history collection.-Marcia Kochel, Olson Middle School, Bloomington, MN

Kirkus Reviews

Bayard Rustin was an important figure in the Civil Rights movement, yet he remains almost unknown to young readers. Rustin refused to give up his seat on a segregated bus several years before Rosa Parks's defiance in Montgomery, organized the 1941 March on Washington, cancelled when key demands were met by President Roosevelt, and became an advisor to Martin Luther King, organizing the 1963 March on Washington, where King gave his "I Have A Dream" speech. An effective mix of major historical events and small, telling anecdotes, along with the attractive photo-essay format, make this a fascinating volume, informative and well written. An excellent author's note matter-of-factly discusses Rustin's homosexuality, his early involvement with the Young Communist League and his pacifism and imprisonment during World War II, factors that made him controversial and a potential liability to the movement. The bibliography is skimpy, with little to guide young readers to the many other fine books on the subject, but this is an excellent addition to that growing body of literature about the Civil Rights movement. (Nonfiction. 9+)

From the Publisher

* "A captivating biography. . . . A gem for students studying the Civil Rights Movement and an excellent addition to any American history collection." —School Library Connection, starred review

"Bayard Rustin's role is too often left out of young people's history books. . . . Larry Dane Brimner brings to readers in stirring fashion Rustin's lifelong consistent commitment to Gandhi's non-violence." —Chicago Tribune

"A fascinating volume, informative and well written. . . . An excellent addition to that growing body of literature about the Civil Rights movement." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170966257
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	12/20/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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