Skip to main content

While the World Watched by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

Imagine your world being turned upside down when you are fifteen years old by the death of four of your closest friends. Imagine knowing that your friends died because of the hate that people have toward you because of the color of your skin.

That is the reality that Carolyn Maull McKinstry found herself in as a young black girl growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during middle of the Civil Right Movement .She vividly shares what it was like to be a young girl in the middle of this tumultuous time, sharing both the facts of the story and how she felt as a young girl in this time. McKinstry share what her life was like both before and after the bombing that killed her four friends in an honest and humble way. McKinstry was touched the powerful words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and shattered by the deaths of Dr. King, President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. It is a powerful story of the breaking and the healing of one woman, one city and ultimately, one nation. And through all of it, she is clear that the only thing that helped her survive was her faith.

Since I did not experience the world before the Civil Rights Movement, I found the information about that time very interesting. McKinstry mentions many of the main events of the Civil Right Movement which could lead to further inquiry about those events. I appreciate McKinstry’s honesty about her emotions. She is a normal girl who lived through some extraordinary circumstances. While not on the front lines of the movement as a teenager, I enjoyed seeing how she grew up and matured to be a woman who took a lead in the movement to remember the events of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham. I sometime found the jumps in time a bit difficult to follow, but overall this was a very interesting and engaging read. As a former teacher, I could see this book as an interesting text in a high school classroom. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about this time in US history or is interested in continuing to make sure that justice is found in the world.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

L.M Montgomery's Beginning and End

My birthday present to myself this year was to join the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club. It is an online book club and I am so excited to be a part of it. I haven't been in book club in a long time, mostly because all of the invitations I get usually end with, "and at our meetings, we usually don't talk about the book very much, so it doesn't matter if you read it or not." What is the point of a book club if you are not actually going to talk about the book? So, anyway, I am excited to be a part of a community of people who read as much as I do and like to talk about what they read.
I was even more excited when I learned that the pick for November was going to be Emily of New Moon. And since I have lived on PEI for almost 7 years and had yet to visit L. M. Montgomery's Birthplace, I figured it was high time. So the kids and I hopped in the van this afternoon and drove through some lovely countryside to New London, PEI.



 The little home is full of all sorts of Mo…
Post a Comment
Read more

Coming Home from Michigan

Following the Truck Parade, we spent a bit of time at a park near Nick and Dawn's house. And then off to airport. 
We were nicely on time. Check-in went fine, but a little longer because of Gideon not being connected to our family. Security was a breeze and we were soon on our way and in Detroit. We easily found our gate in Detroit, had a 10 minute delay for boarding, but soon enough we were on the plane.
And that it when the bottom fell out. 
While on the plane, the pilots revived notice that Toronto was shut down due to weather. We waited about 20-30 minutes on the plane. They gave us snacks. Then they had us get off the plane and wait in the terminal. Every 30 minutes or so we would be updated that we were still delayed. And we were watching dark clouds and lightening roll into the area surround Detroit, too. Soon, the Detroit airport was shut down too. They brought out snacks and drinks a few different times, but finally around 10 pm (so over 5 hours of being delayed in the a…
Post a Comment
Read more

A Farm Boy Already

I don't fully understand how this happens, but Gideon already loves the tractor. If he is in the kitchen or the living room and he hears the sound of the tractor, he crawls to the closest window and has a look outside. When he sees it, he often starts drumming on the window sill, so excited. He repeats a little "T" sound, like he is trying to say tractor. He hasn't actually gone for a ride in the tractor, yet. But I think he will be pretty excited to that some day soon.
Post a Comment
Read more