Civil Rights and Family
An annotated list of Civil Rights movement selections available at the North Smithfield Public Library.
Click on title if you would like to request.
Novels that are also films are noted.
Freshwater Road by Denise Nichols
Nineteen-year-old Celeste Tyree leaves Ann Arbor to go to Pineyville, Mississippi, in the summer of 1964 to help found a voter registration project as part of Freedom Summer. As the summer unfolds, she confronts not only the political realities of race and poverty in this tiny town, but also deep truths about her family and herself.
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
Newly widowed Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake in Georgia. Her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake, can she bring the cottages and her heart--back to life?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ~ film
Scout Finch, daughter of the town lawyer, likes to spend her summers building treehouses, swimming, and catching lightning bugs with her big brother Jem. But one summer, when a black man is accused of raping a white woman, Scout's carefree days come to an end. In the county courtroom, she will join her father in a desperate battle against ignorance and prejudice.
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
A riveting depiction of Southern life in the throes of segregation and what it will mean for a young girl on her way to adulthood and for the woman who means the world to her. Infused with the intensity of a changing time, here is a story of hope, heartbreak, and the love and courage that can transform us from child to adult, wounded to indomitable.
Right as Rain by Bev Marshall
Living and working side-by-side on the rural Southern farm belonging to their white employers, Tee Wee and Icey forge a bond based on their shared servitude and their equally painful pasts.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett ~ film
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women - an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Fleeing her strict grandmother's home in 1963 Mississippi, 9-year-old Starla Claudelle becomes an unlikely companion to an African-American woman at whose side she learns harsh lessons about period segregation and family.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman..
Relegated to the care of an eccentric great-aunt after her mentally unbalanced mother's accidental death, 12-year-old CeeCee is quickly surrounded by the strong women and cultural elements of her new Savannah community.
Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal
In this coming-of-age story set in the Civil Rights era, Ibby is dropped off at the home of her eccentric grandmother in New Orleans after the death of her beloved father. Filled with colorful characters, family secrets and lots of New Orleans tidbits, this book will appeal to fans of Saving Ceecee Honeycutt.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and prejudice. Years later, Maya learns about the kindness of others and her own strong spirit.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ~ film
During the summer of 1964 in rural South Carolina, a young girl is given a home by three black, beekeeping sisters. As she enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey, she discovers a place where she can find the single thing her heart longs for the most.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham ~ film
A ten-year-old girl’s life is shattered when two drunken and remorseless young men rape and torture her in a backwoods town of Mississippi. John Grisham probes the savage deaths of racial violence as he delivers a compelling tale of injustice.
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
Born to a poor couple who were tenant farmers on a plantation in Mississippi, Anne Moody lived through some of the most dangerous days of the pre-civil rights era in the South. A deeply personal biography but also a portrait of a turning point in our nation’s destiny.
One Mississippi by Mark Childress Racism, teenage lust and the burdens of friendship complicate a young man's life in the Deep South of 1973. Daniel relocates in his junior year and luckily becomes best friends with Tim. However, their feud with the school bully gets out of hand. They commit a small crime that grows larger and larger, and threatens to engulf the whole town.
We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg In the summer of 1964 in Tupelo Mississippi, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations. However, in Paige Dunn's small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. She is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter in the way she sees fit--with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Peacie.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Traces more than three decades in the lives of a wealthy Charleston debutante who longs to break free from the strictures of her household and pursue a meaningful life; and the urban slave, Handful, who is placed in her charge as a child before finding courage and a sense of self.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines ~ film
Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman, who began her life as a slave in the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110.
An annotated list of Civil Rights movement selections available at the North Smithfield Public Library.
Click on title if you would like to request.
Novels that are also films are noted.
Freshwater Road by Denise Nichols
Nineteen-year-old Celeste Tyree leaves Ann Arbor to go to Pineyville, Mississippi, in the summer of 1964 to help found a voter registration project as part of Freedom Summer. As the summer unfolds, she confronts not only the political realities of race and poverty in this tiny town, but also deep truths about her family and herself.
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen
Newly widowed Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake in Georgia. Her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake, can she bring the cottages and her heart--back to life?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ~ film
Scout Finch, daughter of the town lawyer, likes to spend her summers building treehouses, swimming, and catching lightning bugs with her big brother Jem. But one summer, when a black man is accused of raping a white woman, Scout's carefree days come to an end. In the county courtroom, she will join her father in a desperate battle against ignorance and prejudice.
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
A riveting depiction of Southern life in the throes of segregation and what it will mean for a young girl on her way to adulthood and for the woman who means the world to her. Infused with the intensity of a changing time, here is a story of hope, heartbreak, and the love and courage that can transform us from child to adult, wounded to indomitable.
Right as Rain by Bev Marshall
Living and working side-by-side on the rural Southern farm belonging to their white employers, Tee Wee and Icey forge a bond based on their shared servitude and their equally painful pasts.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett ~ film
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women - an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Fleeing her strict grandmother's home in 1963 Mississippi, 9-year-old Starla Claudelle becomes an unlikely companion to an African-American woman at whose side she learns harsh lessons about period segregation and family.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman..
Relegated to the care of an eccentric great-aunt after her mentally unbalanced mother's accidental death, 12-year-old CeeCee is quickly surrounded by the strong women and cultural elements of her new Savannah community.
Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal
In this coming-of-age story set in the Civil Rights era, Ibby is dropped off at the home of her eccentric grandmother in New Orleans after the death of her beloved father. Filled with colorful characters, family secrets and lots of New Orleans tidbits, this book will appeal to fans of Saving Ceecee Honeycutt.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and prejudice. Years later, Maya learns about the kindness of others and her own strong spirit.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ~ film
During the summer of 1964 in rural South Carolina, a young girl is given a home by three black, beekeeping sisters. As she enters their mesmerizing secret world of bees and honey, she discovers a place where she can find the single thing her heart longs for the most.
A Time to Kill by John Grisham ~ film
A ten-year-old girl’s life is shattered when two drunken and remorseless young men rape and torture her in a backwoods town of Mississippi. John Grisham probes the savage deaths of racial violence as he delivers a compelling tale of injustice.
Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody
Born to a poor couple who were tenant farmers on a plantation in Mississippi, Anne Moody lived through some of the most dangerous days of the pre-civil rights era in the South. A deeply personal biography but also a portrait of a turning point in our nation’s destiny.
One Mississippi by Mark Childress Racism, teenage lust and the burdens of friendship complicate a young man's life in the Deep South of 1973. Daniel relocates in his junior year and luckily becomes best friends with Tim. However, their feud with the school bully gets out of hand. They commit a small crime that grows larger and larger, and threatens to engulf the whole town.
We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg In the summer of 1964 in Tupelo Mississippi, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations. However, in Paige Dunn's small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. She is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter in the way she sees fit--with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Peacie.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Traces more than three decades in the lives of a wealthy Charleston debutante who longs to break free from the strictures of her household and pursue a meaningful life; and the urban slave, Handful, who is placed in her charge as a child before finding courage and a sense of self.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines ~ film
Presents the story of the long life of Miss Jane Pittman, who began her life as a slave in the South and who marched for her civil rights in the 20th century at the age of 110.
