We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March in Mock Newbery 2026

Apr 01, 2012 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: social-studies, social-justice, history, civil-rights, ncbla2013, nbgs-2013

Thanks to Mighty Times: The Children's March, a film distributed by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance, Larry Dane Brimner's Black & White (2011) and Phillip Hoose's Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (2009), I knew something about the role of children and teens in the Civil Rights Movement, but this new title covers the territory even more thoroughly by focusing on the role of four youngsters who played parts in keeping the campaign for fair treatment alive. Through the vo ...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction

Richie’s Picks: WE’VE GOT A JOB: THE 1963 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN’S MARCH by Cynthia Levinson, Peachtree, February 2012, 176p., ISBN: 978-1-56145-627-7

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise”
-- Paul McCartney

“These are our heroes, and they still walk among us today. One of them may be sitting next to you as you read this, or standing in the next room making your dinner, or waiting for you to come outsi ...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Dolores rated it it was amazing

This is the story of four young people who were brave enough to change the world--told through their their eyes and in their voices. The actual story was not new to me--I've read other books about the Children's March. What made this book special was getting to know these four young people; what inspired them to march and what happened to them when they did. This is an empowering book for young people to read and a great reminder of what they can accomplish. ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Liz rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-for-blog

In the spring of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, black leaders from throughout the US wanted to have a series of large demonstrations against segregation. The leaders wanted adults in Birmingham to march and allow themselves to be arrested until the jails could hold no more people. The black adults, though, wanted to wait and see what would happen to segregation when a new city government was put in place. So the leaders turned to children. Thousands of children marched and thousands were arrested. In the spring of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, black leaders from throughout the US wanted to have a series of large demonstrations against segregation. The leaders wanted adults in Birmingham to march and allow themselves to be arrested until the jails could hold no more people. The black adults, though, wanted to wait and see what would happen to segregation when a new city government was put in place. So the leaders turned to children. Thousands of children marched and thousands were arrested. The impact was very significant both on a local level and on a national level. We've Got a Job follows four of the student protesters, three of whom were trained in nonviolence and a fourth who became violent. This is a very important story, one which ultimately came a catalyst for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

I have a very strong reaction to the story, a reaction different from any other review of this book I have read. I was five in 1963. Over the course of the next several years, Martin Luther King, Jr. became a hero of mine. It never occurred to me that King was not entirely the noble, non-violent idealist I thought him to be. He was also a political pragmatist. The civil rights movement was losing momentum in 1963, and King needed something to bring it back to life. Adults in Birmingham weren’t willing to help, so he let children march and go to jail. I should point out that King wasn't in favor of letting children march, but he allowed it. I should also point out that the children were not being coerced. They knew there was a job to do and they were willing to do it. But can children make an informed decision? Is it fair to let children put themselves in the path of dogs and firehoses?

It's a credit to Cynthia Levinson's very straightforward telling of this story that it caused me to doubt one of my lifelong heroes. A glimpse into the fallibility and pragmatism of the leaders of political movements is a good thing, as is seeing the confusion of those leaders.

The children are the heroes in this story, and in reading the unemotional accounts of acts of white hatred against the black children, it's clear that they were heroic indeed.
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Jan 10, 2013 Paige Y. rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013-books-read, 2013-ya-nonfiction

The only thing that prevents me from giving this book 5 stars is that I struggled a little bit with its structure at the beginning of the book. I did eventually get used to it, though. I learned a tremendous amount from the book and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Civil Rights Movement.

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Jul 13, 2012 Samantha rated it liked it

A look at segregation from a children's perspective. I liked that this book centered on an event I knew virtually nothing about, but the writing style made it feel like reading a textbook. The photos were only okay. Recommended for grades 6-8. ...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Scot rated it it was amazing

Easily one of the best non-fiction books for middle schoolers I have ever read; it's certainly a contender for all the major awards. ...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Kirsten rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-readers, non-fiction

Excellent. I learned so much about something I knew nothing about. The 1963 Children's March (really marches, there were multiple) in Birmingham turned the tide in deeply divided and segregated Birmingham, Alabama, and changed the course of history. I am fascinated by this era and I hope I would've been brave enough to do something then as they all did. ...more

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