Interracial marriage was illegal, and most Black people couldn’t vote because they were unable to pass voter literacy tests. Black people couldn’t use the same public facilities as white people, live in many of the same towns or go to the same schools. The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.To marginalize Black people, keep them separate from white people and erase the progress they’d made during Reconstruction, “ Jim Crow” laws were established in the South beginning in the late 19th century. Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights can provide a way into discussions about things children see or hear in the news as well as for talking about family values. There’s also a page that talks about peaceful protests, beginning with those from the 1950s and 1960s on behalf of civil rights, and going on to what it means to peacefully protest today. A glossary at the back explains words and terms. Motivate.Ĭut-paper illustrations by Jared Andrew Schorr depict adults and children of all types marching with signs, going to the voting booth, even knitting for a cause. Each activity can be public or private, as shown with the letter “m”: March. It starts with activities built around the letter “a”: Assemble.

It’s also a way to look at protest through the lens of the letters of the alphabet. Rob Sanders’ picture book, Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights, provides a way to talk with young children about activism and how people can choose to peacefully make their voices heard to advocate for justice. Rob also coordinates the Rising Kite Writing Contest for SCBWI Florida, organizes meetings for SCBWI Florida members in the Tampa Bay area, and critiques picture book manuscripts for other writers. RUBY ROSE ON HER TOES (the first in a two-book deal with HarperCollins) releases in 2016, and Rob just sold RODZILLA to Justin Chanda at Simon & Schuster. OUTER SPACE BEDTIME RACE was released by Random House Children’s Books in January 2015. Rob’s first picture book, COWBOY CHRISTMAS, was released by Golden Books/Random House in 2012. These days he teaches elementary kids about books and words and reading and writing, and writes books for those same kids. He worked for fifteen years in religious educational publishing as a writer, editor, editorial manager, and product designer. Rob is a picture book author, a writing teacher, a blogger, and a great uncle.

Rob is not a cowboy, a ballerina, an alien, or a temper-tantrum-throwing toddler. Rob Sanders does not work as a telephone sales rep, a loading dock worker, a trophy engraver, or an editor.

Peaceful fights for equal rights