Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for We Were the Fire by Shelia P. Moses - Available

We Were the Fire

Birmingham 1963

by Shelia P. Moses
Genesis Oliver
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
The powerful story of an eleven-year-old Black boy determined to stand up for his rights, who's pulled into the action of the 1963 civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama.
Rufus Jackson Jones is from Birmingham, the place Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the most segregated place in the country. A place that in 1963 is full of civil rights activists including Dr. King. The adults are trying to get more attention to their cause—to show that separate is not equal. Rufus’s dad works at the local steel factory, and his mom is a cook at the mill. If they participate in marches, their bosses will fire them. So that’s where the kids decide they will come in. Nobody can fire them. So on a bright May morning in 1963, Rufus and his buddies join thousands of other students to peacefully protest in a local park. There they are met with policemen and firemen who turn their powerful hoses on them, and that’s where Rufus realizes that they are the fire. And they will not be put out. Shelia Moses gives readers a deeply personal account of one boy’s heroism during what came to be known as the Children’s Crusade in this important novel that highlights a key turning point in the civil rights movement.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 6, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593610206
      • File size: 85176 KB
      • Duration: 02:57:26

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 690
    • Text Difficulty: 3

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      Starred review from January 1, 2023

      Gr 4-7-Impressive Oliver distinctly ciphers each of observant 11-year-old Rufus's extended community in National Book Award finalist Moses's fictionalization of the Children's Crusade, a pivotal May 1963 event in Birmingham, AL. Two years after Rufus Sr.'s death, Mama remarries and Rufus and younger sister Georgia welcome Daddy Paul. While Governor George Wallace demands "segregation now...segregation tomorrow," Mama and Paul move the family into the next-door home of the local mill owner, kind and welcoming Miss Boone. The white neighbors-and the KKK-are quick to announce their hatred. And yet the Civil Rights Movement is well underway: while the adults strategize their protests, energized by MLK's impending visit, the children realize they, too, hold power for change. Despite Mama's understandably fearful admonishments, Rufus is determined to do his part. VERDICT Oliver dramatically transforms Moses's resonating history into a heart-thumping thriller.

      Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:690
  • Text Difficulty:3

Loading