In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated schools violated the U.S. Constitution. This decision, Brown v. Board of Education, was a big deal--but Supreme Court rulings do not enforce themselves. If Brown's promise of change was to become reality, people had to take action.
And so, in the small town of Clinton, Tennessee, twelve African American high school students stepped up. You probably haven't heard of the Clinton 12--but what they did in 1956 (a year before the Little Rock 9, four years before Ruby Bridges) was front-page news all over the nation. My co-author, Jo Ann Allen Boyce, was one of the Clinton 12, and we have worked together to tell her story. Like my book The Year of Goodbyes, this is nonfiction in verse, with primary archival materials and additional backmatter features.
BIO
Jo Ann Allen Boyce was one of twelve students to desegregate Clinton High School in 1956. She has worked as a professional singer and a nurse. She lives in Los Angeles.
[H] Bloomsbury Publishing / January 18, 2019
1.1" H x 8.5" L x 5.7" W (0.9 lbs) 320 pages
For ages 10 to 13