Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman

With “Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott”, Russell Freedman presents a dramatic portrayal of the times that tells a story, rather than simply reveals facts. This compelling tale is laid out like a novel, each chapter building on the prior, and is enhanced with photos and quotations that give the reader a clear and personalized account of the event. Characters are introduced and woven through the story using their own words to convey their thoughts and feelings of frustration and determination. Although Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. take prominent roles, Freedman also focuses on the hundreds of community boycott heroes. These heroes are shown to stand by their pledge of non-violence through harassment, bombings, and arrests. Even when the Supreme Court declares the bus segregation laws unconstitutional, the boycott leaders prepare for more violence by teaching the community how to respond to white harassment with courtesy and goodwill. This book contains chapter notes to support the quoted material, an annotated bibliography and an index.

Freedom Walkers provides young adult readers with connections to what they are learning in the classroom. Dramatic storytelling and an accessible reading level gives students, particularly reluctant readers, an alternative to their textbook. Freedom Walkers enables young adults to connect and contrast what they are learning about history with what is going on in their world today, particularly in light of the inauguration of our first African American president. The photos used in the story add evidence to the words and draw in the reader’s interest. Freedman’s handling of the subjects of racial bias and non-violent protest provide opportunities for informal discussion and debate both in and out of the classroom.

Freedom Walkers provides important role models to help teens develop emotionally. Throughout the book, Freedman shows the boycott participants as patient, determined and able to exhibit self-control in spite of the pressure put on them to respond to harassment and violence. These adult role models are particularly important to urban youth who may be exposed to violence in their households or community. They see that non-violence can be a successful way to respond to harassment and to create change.

Most importantly, this book provides young adults with the opportunity to develop the reflective self. Confronting bias in any form is an important step in a teen’s personal growth. Freedom Walkers makes the reader contemplate their own personal value system, sense of civic duty and prompts some important self-examination. “Am I brave enough to stand up for what is right, regardless of personal sacrifice?” Teens might find themselves examining what they consider to be their “community” and what that “community” stands for.