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    This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality
    Unavailable
    This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality
    Unavailable
    This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality
    Ebook294 pages1 hour

    This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality

    By Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if the easier thing to do would be to go back to their old school. Jo Ann--clear-eyed, practical, tolerant, and popular among both black and white students---found herself called on as the spokesperson of the group. But what about just being a regular teen? This is the heartbreaking and relatable story of her four months thrust into the national spotlight and as a trailblazer in history. Based on original research and interviews and featuring backmatter with archival materials and notes from the authors on the co-writing process.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateJan 8, 2019
    ISBN9781681198538
    Unavailable
    This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality

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    Reviews for This Promise of Change

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Through poems, Jo Ann Allen Boyce tells the story of being one of the first 12 black students to attend all-white Clinton High School in Clinton, TN, in 1956.Altogether, the work is a blistering indictment of the actions of Clinton’s white community. Book makes this period of history eye-opening and accessible. Poetry forms are described in the authors notes.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of a little known (now) part of the Civil Rights Movement. In the fall of 1956, twelve black students entered Clinton (Tennessee) High School as the first desegregated high school in the South. Jo Ann Allen Boyce was fifteen and one of those students. She lasted through an eventful semester with riots, Ku Klux Klan cross burnings, and national attention. She also personally dealt with harassment from other students and a strong sense of isolation and fear as she went to school.Finally, her family gave up and moved to California both for a better education for their children and for better job opportunities for the parents too. Jo Ann was interviewed a number of times during the months she was attending school in Tennessee and after she moved to California too. She continued, and continues, to visit schools and speak about her time as one of the Clinton 12.Her story is told in verse in quite a number of formats including forms from free verse to haiku to a variety of rhyme schemes. The use of poetry really highlighted the intense emotions of the time and the trials Jo Ann and the other Clinton 12 faced. Through it all, Jo Ann's faith and optimism shine through despite all the obstacles she faced. The timeline of the Civil Rights Movement at the end marks the milestone of desegregation but ends with the depressing note that segregation still exists in many parts of the United States.
    • 3/5
      children's teen Black history nonfiction, written in verse.
      a quick read and a story that is very relatable (with parallels to today's problems), plus informative backmatter. If you can get a kid to start reading it, they'll probably make it through to the end, so I would recommend this.