“Picture the Dream,” on display at the New-York Historical Society, shows that children, far from being mere witnesses to the civil rights movement, have played central roles in it.
How childrenâs books carry on the struggle for civil rights
By Murray Whyte Globe Staff,Updated April 9, 2021, 2 hours ago
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Philippe Lardy s illustration for A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson.Philippe Lardy
AMHERST â On the left is a simple drawing of young Rosa McCauley, her black hair tied in bows, posed with her parents and baby brother at home in Tuskegee, Ala. On the right are pale riders in white hoods on dark horses, thundering hatred through the inky night. The question is not how these images can coexist, but why. Theyâre pages from the renowned artist and activist Faith Ringgoldâs 1999 childrenâs book âIf a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks.â (McCauley was Parksâs maiden name.) And theyâre as powerful an emblem as any of the divide that still cleaves the heart of American society.