This inspiring story of little-known civil rights champion Oscar Chapman reminds readers that one person can truly make a difference.On Easter Sunday 1939, Marian Anderson performed at the foot of the
This inspiring story of little-known civil rights champion Oscar Chapman reminds readers that one person can truly make a difference.
On Easter Sunday 1939, Marian Anderson performed at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial for a crowd of over 75,000 people. The person largely responsible for putting her there was a white man, Oscar Chapman. When Chapman learned that Marian Anderson was not allowed to sing at Constitution Hall because of the color of her skin, Chapman helped produce a landmark concert that?for at least one evening?bridged the color divide to bring a city and much of the nation together.
Award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson tells the inspirational story of Oscar Chapman?s lifelong commitment to ending bigotry. Illustrator Leonard Jenkins?s remarkable illustrations recreate a bygone era and pay tribute to remarkable real-life people and a magical moment in modern history. An author?s note provides additional historical context.
?Jenkins?s mixed-media illustrations are freighted with emotion, unnatural colors and skewed angles underlining the tumult of feelings surrounding the events, scribbles of colored chalk making the connection between Chapman the impassioned schoolboy and Chapman the righteous man?it brings deserved attention to Chapman and underscores the very worthwhile message that one does not need to be a star to make a difference.?
View Review quote
Curriculum Connections: Backmatter, author's note POV, sequence of events, illustrations depict historical images and create a mood, black and white photographs, too
View Description for teachers/educators
?Jenkins? powerful, bright, mixed-media collages show and tell the connections, past, present, and future, as the politician remembers his childhood experience and his works for civil rights.?
View Review quote
?Hopkinson?s (Sky Boys) accessible, conversational narrative relays the little-known story of Oscar Chapman? Featuring bright swirling pastel patterns against deep blues and browns, Jenkins?s (Langston?s Train Ride) collage-like mixed-media illustrations deftly dramatize this illuminating and inspirational behind-the-scenes look at a triumphant moment in the civil rights movement.?
View Review quote
