“You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.” – Fannie Lou Hamer
All across the country, people have begun receiving and sending in their mail-in ballots and voting early in-person for the 2020 Presidential Election. Organizations like, Black Voters Matter have been instrumental in increasing knowledge about voting rights. Their purpose “is to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. They believe that “Effective voting allows a community to determine its own destiny.“ “People, Politics, and Voting Rights” is a list of fiction and nonfiction children’s books about people who marched and championed voting rights. The list includes biographies, memoirs, and the history of Black women in the suffrage movement. For educators, students, parents, caregivers, and community leaders looking for resources to share during this election season, this list is a great starting point.
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement
Carole Boston Weatherford | Ekua Holmes | Candlewick Press | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm
Katheryn Russell-Brown | Eric Velasquez | Lee & Low Books | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice
Nikki Grimes | Laura Freeman | Atheneum BYR | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis
Jabari Asim | E. B. Lewis | Nancy Paulsen Books | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Belle, The Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story
Calvin Alexander Ramsey | Bettye Stroud | John Holyfield | Candlewick Press | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Child of the Civil Rights Movement
Paula Young Shelton | Raul Colón | Dragonfly Books | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box
Michael S. Bandy | Eric Stein | James E. Ransome | Candlewick Press | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told
Walter Dean Myers | Bonnie Christensen | Amistad Press | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.: A Biography Book for New Readers
Christine Platt | Rockridge Press | ChpBk | Amazon | Bookshop
Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote
Veronica Chambers | The Staff of The New York Times | Versify | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Stella by Starlight
Sharon M. Draper | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box
Evette Dionne | Viking BYR | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
The Voting Booth
Brandy Colbert | Disney-Hyperion | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March
Lynda Blackmon Lowery | Elspeth Leacock | Susan Buckley | PJ Loughran | Speak | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
March: Book Three
John Lewis | Andrew Aydin | Nate Powell | Top Shelf Productions | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (YA Ed.)
Kamala Harris | Penguin Books | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
One Person, No Vote: How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally (YA Ed.)
Carol Anderson | Tonya Bolden | Bloomsbury | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
Blackballed: The Black Vote and US Democracy*
Darryl Pinckney | New York Review Books | Amazon | Bookshop
*Blackballed: The Black Vote and US Democracy is an adult book but could be a good resource for young adult readers.
Amazon/Bookshop/IndieBound Disclosure: BCBA is a participant in the Amazon, Bookshop, and IndieBound Affiliate Programs. The affiliate programs offer participants the opportunity to earn fees by linking to Amazon, Bookshop, and IndieBound websites. Clicking on the book links will direct you away from bcbooksandauthors.com. Thanks for your support!
