Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1963 March on Washington

Gr 6–10—Aretha begins his look at the historic 1963 March on Washington with a review of Jim Crow in the American South and the early days of the modern Civil Rights Movement. He then explains why Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders believed they needed to nationalize their cause with a mass demonstration. He also describes the movement's internal divisions over leadership and tactics and its often uneasy relationship with the Kennedy administration. Most of the book, however, focuses on the planning for the march and the events of the momentous day, including objective accounts of behind-the-scenes conflicts about who would speak and what would be said. Aretha offers considerable detail about the march, including the peaceful, racially integrated crowd and the rousing speeches, which culminated with Dr. King's "Dream" speech. Each chapter opens with lyrics from a protest song, and large sepia-toned photos illustrate the text. Chapter notes document sources, and a lengthy bibliography will aid researchers. The march will likely receive much coverage in this 50th anniversary year, but this book doesn't improve upon titles such as Jim Haskins's well-written and widely used The March on Washington (HarperCollins, 1993), which offers similar content, supplemented with clear analysis, to help readers put it and the movement into context.—Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO