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Sub topic #3- Respect - How have people been affected by unequal rights? 

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Sub topic #3- Respect - How have people been affected by unequal rights? 

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Inquiry questions

1) How was education affected by segregation ?

2) How was transportation affected during this time?

3) How was life like for African American families during this time?

4) How were children affected during the movement?

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Sub topic #1: Awareness - What Are Civil Rights?

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Sub topic #1: Awareness - What Are Civil Rights?

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Inquiry Questions

1. What were some of the inequities African Americans faced during this time?

2. What does segregation mean?

3. How did people fight for equality?

4. Why was integration so important?

5. What leaders emerged from the Civil Rights Movement?

6. Where was the Civil Rights Movement taking place?

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The History of the Civil Rights Movement

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The History of the Civil Rights Movement

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This book is an introduction to the history of the civil rights movement for young readers. It explains the different laws at the time and how many brave men and women, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, dedicated their lives to ending these unfair laws through protests, sit-ins, and other peaceful demonstrations. This engaging story explores the ways Black Americans were discriminated against, the protestors' many victories, and how the fight for equality continues today.

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An introduction to the history of the civil rights movement for kids ages 6 to 9

Years ago, American laws were unfair to Black people. Black people were not allowed to shop in the same stores as white people, eat at the same restaurants, or even go to the same schools. Many brave men and women, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, dedicated their lives to ending these unfair laws through protests, sit-ins, and other peaceful demonstrations. This engaging story explores the ways Black Americans were discriminated against, the protestors' many victories, and how the fight for equality continues today.

Help kids understand the struggle for equality in the United States with this standout among Black history books for kids.
Discover what sets this book apart from other civil rights books for kids:

A visual timeline -Kids will be able to easily follow the history of the civil rights movement with a timeline marking major milestones.

Core curriculum -Teach kids about the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How behind the civil rights movement, and test their knowledge with a quick quiz after they finish.

Continuing the fight -Encourage kids to explore questions that help them think about how they can make the world a better place.

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The History of the Civil Rights Movement: A History Book for New Readers (The History Of: A Biography Series for New Readers)

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The History of the Civil Rights Movement: A History Book for New Readers (The History Of: A Biography Series for New Readers)

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The act of protesting. Standing up for what’s right. Uniting around the common good—children have questions about all these things they see and hear about each day. Through sparse and lyrical writing, the author Rob Sanders introduces abstract concepts like “fighting for what you believe in” and turns them into something actionable. This book explains how we can peaceful protest for equal rights and make a difference within society. This book helps students understand that civil rights is for all different groups of people as illustrated on the cover.

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The book tells the true story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, who was arrested at a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Ala., when she was 9 years old. In it, Audrey is introduced to stories about the Ku Klux Klan and police brutality, and she decides to join the protest. This story shows awareness and how even children can fight for a cause.

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The Civil Rights Movement (A Step into History)

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The Civil Rights Movement (A Step into History)

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This nonfiction text discusses the events that happened during the 1950s and 1960s, this resistance led to a widespread movement for civil rights in the United States. Readers will find out how the movement began, what obstacles activists faced, what impact the movement had on the country, and much more. This book brings awareness about the civil rights to young students.

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This story discusses one of the most influential people from the Civil Rights Movement. Students will learn about Ruby Bridges and how she stood up for what was right in a peaceful manner.

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Author Sherri L. Smith brings to life momentous events through the words and stories of people who were on the frontlines of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This book helps introduce civil rights to students in an engaging format.

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What Is the Civil Rights Movement?

One afternoon in March 1955, fifteen--year--old Claudette Colvin boarded a public bus for home. A deep brown--skinned girl with large, dark eyes and black--rimmed glasses, Claudette was a high-school student in Montgomery, Alabama.

Schools in the South were separate but not equal. White schools were in nicer buildings, with new textbooks and school buses. Black students often walked long distances to school in all kinds of weather. Black schools received old textbooks thrown out by white schools. Some didn't even have flushing toilets! It was hard to get a good education if you were Black. That meant it was harder to get a good--paying job.

Seven--year--old Linda Brown had a very long walk to her school in Topeka, Kansas. As she later recalled, "It was several blocks up through railroad yards, and crossing a busy avenue, and standing on the corner, and waiting for the school bus to carry me two miles across town to an all--Black school." In the winter, the walk was unbearable. "I remember walking, tears freezing up on my face, because I began to cry because it was so cold."

Why couldn't she go to the other school just a few blocks from her house? Because it was for whites only.

In 1951, Linda's father went to court. He said not allowing Linda to go to the local white elementary school went against the Fourteenth Amendment's promise of equal rights. A famous civil rights attorney named Thurgood Marshall brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. He went on to become the first Black Supreme Court justice.

On May 17, 1954, the court declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. Unconstitutional meant it went against the laws laid out in the US Constitution. The court said separate could never truly be equal. Schools should start integrating right away. Integration means to mix separate groups together. The decision was called Brown v. Board of Education.

But many white people ignored the law.

The city of Little Rock, Arkansas, did not integrate schools until September 1957. The first Black students to do so were known as the Little Rock Nine.

The local White Citizens' Council was unhappy with the news. The Citizens' Council was like the KKK. But instead of hiding behind robes and hoods, they were businessmen. They used money and friendships with politicians and the police to get their way.

The Citizens' Council threatened the Little Rock Nine as well as their families. Angry white people from all over the South came to town to block the entrance to the all--white Little Rock Central High School.

On September 4, eight of the nine students were driven to the school, only to be stopped by the National Guard. The National Guard is a volunteer US military group. The governor of Arkansas had sent them to stop the teenagers from entering the school. Unfortunately, one student's family did not have a telephone and did not know about the carpool. So Elizabeth Eckford ended up facing the mob all alone. News cameras snapped pictures of the brave girl holding her head up as people spat and yelled at her. But the Guard would not let her inside.

On September 23, all nine students entered the school together using a delivery entrance. But the angry crowd outside stormed the building and the Little Rock Nine were forced to flee.

President Dwight Eisenhower sent 1,200 soldiers and the National Guard back to Central High to keep the peace. On September 25, the Little Rock Nine entered the school with an armed military escort. One of them said, "For the first time in my life, I feel like an American citizen."
When people talk about the civil rights movement, they usually mean the period in the 1950s and 1960s when African Americans fought for the same rights that white people had. Segregation was the worst in the South. Besides having to sit in separate rows in buses, Black people went to separate schools, drank from separate water fountains, stayed in separate hotels, lived in separate neighborhoods, and were not allowed to vote.

The United States Declaration of Independence says "all men are created equal." But when it was written in 1776, one out of every five people was enslaved. They had been kidnapped from Africa and sold to white Americans like property.

In the Southern states, white people depended on slave labor to run their farms and plantations. But many Northern states wanted to make slavery illegal. Rather than agree to this, in 1860 eleven Southern states began to break away. In 1861, they formed a new country--the Confederate States of America. It included Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The border states of Kentucky and Missouri had divided loyalties. The North wanted the states to stay united. This led to the Civil War. When it ended in 1865, the South had lost and slavery in the United States was over at last.

The following year saw the first Civil Rights Act. It said all people born in the United States were considered US citizens. As citizens, Black people now had the right "to full and equal benefit of all laws as . . . enjoyed by white citizens." In 1870, a new Civil Rights Act attempted to support Black men's right to vote as granted by the Fifteenth Amendment.

Even so, African Americans continued to face discrimination. Discrimination means they were treated differently because of the color of their skin. The Southern states created new laws that denied African Americans their rights. These were called the Black Codes, also known as Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow was a character in music shows that made fun of Black people. White actors would darken their faces with burnt cork and dress in rags. Jim Crow was clumsy and not very smart. He was meant to insult Black people. Jim Crow laws were used to make Black people second--class citizens. Second--class citizens are people who are not given equal rights.

Jim Crow laws made it hard for Black citizens to lead a decent life. White people would not sell farmland to Black people or allow them to attend good schools. African Americans were prevented from voting so they could not elect people who would fight on their behalf.

Many African Americans moved to the North or out West for a better life. From 1915 to 1970, around six million Black people migrated from the South. They still faced racism and unfairness. But life was harder for those who remained.

Racism was not restricted to the South. Even the Supreme Court ignored the rights of Black citizens. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation. What it says is the law remains the law.

In 1896, a case went before the Supreme Court. The case was called Plessy v. Ferguson. Homer Plessy was a Black activist who challenged a new law in Louisiana that blocked people of color from riding in "white" train cars. This law took away freedoms Plessy had grown up with during Reconstruction. With his fair skin color he was able to buy a ticket for the "white car." But a train conductor threw him out. Plessy and a local civil rights group filed a legal complaint.

The Supreme Court judges said Homer Plessy did not have the right to sit in the "white" car. They said segregation was legal as long as both white people and people of color were given "separate but equal" accommodations. (For trains, "accommodations" would mean the seats, and access to food and a bathroom.) While accommodations were indeed kept separate, they were far from equal. Particularly in the South. And yet, for the next sixty years, "separate but equal" was the law of the land.

On the bus, Claudette and three friends took seats in a row for Black passengers.

At the time, public buses in the South were segregated by race. (Racial segregation meant keeping Black people separated from white people.) In Alabama, white passengers sat in the front rows marked by a sign that read "White." Passengers of color had to take seats in rows behind the sign. If more white people boarded the bus after the "White" area was full, Black passengers who had seats were forced to give them up.

That's what happened to Claudette and her friends when a young white woman boarded the bus on their trip home. The other girls gave up their seats. But Claudette did not. Just for that, Claudette was arrested! She was locked up in an adult jail cell. "I can still vividly hear the click of those keys," she later said.

What made a teenage girl act so bravely?

At school, Claudette had learned about Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Both African American women had fought for years against the injustice of slavery.

Claudette believed staying in her seat was doing what they would have wanted her to do. She said, "It felt as though Harriet Tubman's hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and Sojourner Truth's hands were pushing me down on the other shoulder. I felt inspired by these women because my teacher taught us about them in so much detail. I wasn't frightened, but disappointed and angry because I knew I was sitting in the right seat."

Claudette took a stand for civil rights that day. Civil rights are protections promised to all citizens of the United States of America--like the right to vote or the right to an education. Big changes can start with the bravery of a single person. Claudette was one of the many brave people who would work together for the three great promises of America--life, liberty, and happiness.

Chapter 1: A Troubled Past Chapter 2: A Long Walk to School

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What Is the Civil Rights Movement? (What Was?)

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What Is the Civil Rights Movement? (What... by Smith, Sherri L.

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Youtube video- How can children change the world?  

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Youtube video- How can children change the world?  

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Can Kids Change the World? | The Civil Rights Movement

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Children who marched for equal rights inspire a new generation

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The rights of a country's citizens are called civil rights. Many Black Americans were denied full civil rights for about 100 years after the end of slavery. The struggle for...

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Six-year-old Ruby Bridges, three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing front. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs, New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection.

As we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. this year, we invite your families to explore the different ways that children participated in the civil rights movement and the impact that Martin Luther King, Jr. had on young people using resources from the Library.
Children's Crusade: What Would You Do if Martin Luther King, Jr. Invited You to March?
Martin Luther King Jr.'s influence on one child was profound, as activist Freeman Hrabowski recounted in an oral history included in the Civil Rights History Project held at the Library. At minute mark 30:00, Hrabowski shares how, in 1963 at age twelve, he heard a guest speaker at his Montgomery, Alabama church propose involving children in the city's ongoing protests. When Hrabowski asked the speaker's name, people responded, "King, King." This was Hrabowski's first encounter with Martin Luther King, Jr.

After hearing King speak, Hrabowski felt personally invited to participate in the Birmingham Children's March -a pivotal moment of the civil rights movement involving over 5,000 young protesters. The children made front-page news nationwide as they endured being knocked to the ground by powerful water hoses, attacks by police dogs, and up to five days of detention in jail without their parents. At minute mark 41:00, Hrabowski recollects that one of his jobs in jail was to comfort incarcerated 8-year-olds.

While the details are disturbing and the move to expose children to such risks was controversial, the event galvanized the movement. Today, historians consider it a turning point and for Hrabowski, it was a personal watershed. As he recalled at minute mark 42:48, "What the experience taught me was that even children can make decisions that can have an impact on the rest of their lives, and that children know the difference between right and wrong."
How A Play About Martin Luther King Jr. Inspired a Youth Sit-In
In this oral history interview, Marilyn Luper Hildreth recalls how a theatrical adaptation of King's story catalyzed the NAACP Youth Council in Oklahoma City. When Hildreth was in elementary school in 1957, her mother wrote the play "Brother President" based on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life. After experiencing integration when travelling through the north to perform the play, Hildreth and her friends-age six to sixteen-staged a sit-in at the lunch counter of Katz's Drug Store. Despite enduring physical and verbal abuse, their action was successful. As Hildreth shared at the 8:00 minute mark, "We went from restaurant to restaurant to restaurant until the walls of segregation starting falling down in Oklahoma City."
Children Act Against Injustice
Ruby Bridges was born in 1954-the year the Supreme Court, in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case, ruled that segregated schools are inherently unequal.

Despite the ruling, many districts across the South resisted integration. In November of 1960-six years after the decision-Ruby Bridges began her education as the first African-American student at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. White families pulled their students from the school in retaliation, and Bridges had to attend classes by herself with the one teacher who was willing to teach her, Barbara Henry. She was jeered by a mob each day on her way to school and surrounded by federal marshals for her protection.

Today, Ruby Bridges is a speaker and children's book author, who appeared virtually at the 2022 National Book Festival to discuss her new book "I Am Ruby Bridges." Watch the video below with children in your life to learn more about her life and writings today. At minute 14:38, for example, she talks about how books can help children understand the world.

In addition to hearing from a child activist from the past, you can also learn from Tybre Faw, the subject of the book Because of You, John Lewis, which compares Martin Luther King, Jr.'s mentorship of John Lewis to Tybre's relationship with the late Congressman. In this video, also from the 2022 National Book Festival, children can hear how today's civil rights activists can be inspired by leaders of the past.
Activities and Reflection:

Create a play or a work of art: Marilyn Luper Hildreth shared how she participated in a play based on her mother's interpretation of Martin Luther King Jr's life story. Work with your child to create a piece of art or writing inspired by Library collections about the civil rights movement.

Write a letter to Ruby: In her interview from the National Book Festival, Ruby Bridges notes that "I've been traveling for 25 years, visiting schools and classrooms, doing presentations with students and sharing my story with them. And I would get boxes and boxes of mail from classrooms...I think parents and educators are going to be so moved because we sometimes have a tendency to underestimate the things that our children are really thinking about and processing." Share with the children in your life that children often write to Ruby Bridges, and she keeps their letters. What would they say to her if they could?

Follow a map towards justice: How did segregation and the legal and political movement to end segregation affect all levels of education, from elementary to higher education? Use this StoryMap to explore the Path Towards Desegregation and this StoryMap about Increasing Access to Education

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How Did Children Participate in the Civil Rights Movement? | Minerva's Kaleidoscope

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This post contains research conducted by Khrisma McMurray, a summer 2022 Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress. As we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. this year, we invite your families to explore the different ways that children participated in the civil rights movement and the impact that Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Sub topic #2- Responsibility - How have others led the way in fighting for civil rights?

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Sub topic #2- Responsibility - How have others led the way in fighting for civil rights?

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Inquiry questions

1) Who has led the way in fighting for equal rights?

2) How did these individuals make a difference?

3) What character traits did these individuals have in common?

4) In what ways did these individuals peaceful protest for equality?

5) What does it mean to fight for civil rights today? What does it mean to be an activist?

6)What are some social or political issues that you care about? What matters to you?

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1. First, students will create a reflection journal. I would encourage my students to write about what they learn through our unit, their feelings, and any connections they see between past and present civil rights issues. Students will use both written words and visuals to respond to their learning.

2. Students will create posters after reading the story, Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights. I will have students create posters that reflect the themes and messages of the Civil Rights Movement. This can include images, symbols, and slogans associated with the movement. Students will work collaboratively to create posters to display at a civil rights march.

3. Lastly, students will create a character profile for Ruby Bridges after reading The Story of Ruby Bridges. Students will use character traits to describe what they learned about Ruby Bridges.

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This book is told from the perspective of Martin Luther King's sister on the day that he delivered his famous "I have a dream speech". She talks about the impact of that day and her how her brothers actions inspired generations to come.

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Decades after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This picture- book tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed.

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Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This picture- book tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed.

Award-winning poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni's evocative text combines with Bryan Collier's striking cut-paper images to retell the story of this historic event from a wholly unique and original perspective.

is a 2006 Caldecott Honor Book and the winner of the 2006 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

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Rosa [Giovanni, Nikki, Collier, Bryan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Rosa

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This book tells the story of Claudette Colvin who refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. A year later she dared to challenge segregation again within the Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South.

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Joan Trumpauer Mulholland was a white teenager in the South during Segregation who put herself on the front lines of the Civil Rights struggle. This is a biography about her experiences.

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This book is about Dr. Martin Luther King famous "I have a dream". His inspiring message of freedom, equality, and peace are seen within the beautifully written and illustrated story.

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This book brings a child’s unique perspective to an important chapter in America’s history. Paula grew up in the deep south, in a world where whites had and blacks did not. With an activist father and a community of leaders surrounding her, including Uncle Martin (Martin Luther King), Paula watched and listened to the struggles, eventually joining with her family—and thousands of others—in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery.

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I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King .Jr HD (subtitled)

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Ruby Bridges Shares Why It’s Important To Get Into ‘Good Trouble’ | TODAY All Day

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The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Kid President

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Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech - American Rhetoric

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Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream speech text and audio

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Who is Joan? - Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation

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Who is Joan? Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, a recipient of the 2015 National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award, is a Civil Rights Icon who participated in over 50 sit-ins and demonstrations by the time she was 23 years old. She was a Freedom Rider, participant in the Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-in, the Marc…

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Rosa Parks (1913-2005) is best known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement that ultimately led to the dismantling of Jim Crow segregation. Rosa Parks became an icon of the movement, celebrated for this single courageous act of civil disobedience, but she is often characterized by misconceptions. Contrary to popular belief, Parks was not a demure seamstress who chose not to stand because she was physically tired. Her calm demeanor hid a militant spirit forged over decades.

The real Rosa Parks was a seasoned activist who organized to free the Scottsboro Boys in the 1930s and helped operate the offices of the NAACP and Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Montgomery during the 1940s and 1950s. She was punished for the bus incident with death threats, unemployment, and dire poverty, yet was sustained through years of hardship by her strong Christian faith. Parks remained committed to the struggle for social justice and human rights until her death, inspiring millions of people around the world.

Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words showcases rarely seen materials that offer an intimate view of Rosa Parks and documents her life and activism-creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure. The materials are drawn extensively from the Rosa Parks Collection, a gift to the Library of Congress from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

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Explore | Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words | Exhibitions at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

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Rosa Parks (1913-2005) is best known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 1, 1955. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the civil rights movement that ultimately led to the dismantling of Jim Crow segregation.

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1) An activity students would participate in is researching a historical civil rights figure. Each student will pick a civil rights activist or figure to research. They will create a digital presentation to share what they've learned about their assigned person's contributions to the movement.

2) Students will reflect upon MLK I Have A Dream Speech and write their own using a template. Students will share these and then they will be displayed.

3) Students will further research different events from the Civil Rights Movement using approved internet sites or classroom books. They then will create a newspaper article in which they will write about their chosen event. Students articles will be hung around the room and they will go on a gallery walk to learn more about different turning points in the movement. The teacher will bind the articles together to create newspaper from the 1960s!

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Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down.

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Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down.

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This book tells the story of the momentous Woolworths lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became one of the defining moments in the struggle for racial equality and the growing Civil Rights Movement. This book teaches about peaceful protest and shows one of the many ways African Americans were mistreated and faced injustice during this time.

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This picture book tells the story of two girls, Clover and Annie who become friends in a small, segregated town in the deep south during the civil rights movement. This book can make students feel empathy and understand the segregation during this time period.

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Jacqueline Woodson's memoir BROWN GIRL DREAMING won the 2014 National Book Award and was a NY Times Bestseller. Her novel, ANOTHER BROOKLYN, was a National Book Award finalist and an Indie Pick in 2016. Among her many awards, she the recipient of the Kurt Vonnegut Award, four Newbery Honors, two Coretta Scott King Award, and the Langston Hughes Medal. Jacqueline is the author of nearly thirty books for young people and adults including EACH KINDNESS, IF YOU COME SOFTLY, LOCOMOTION and I HADN'T MEANT TO TELL YOU THIS. She served as Young People's Poet Laureate from 2014-2016, was a fellow at The American Library in Paris, occasionally writes for the New York Times, is currently working on more books and like so many writers - lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.

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The Other Side [Woodson, Jacqueline, Lewis, E. B.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Other Side

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This picture book is about two young girls who sneak out of their houses to go to a march for freedom and justice.
This story is inspired by the countless young people who took a stand against the forces of injustice. This story offers a glimpse of the youth involvement that played an invaluable role in the Civil Rights movement.

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Told from a child’s point of view, this moving historical picture book focuses on a monumental moment in the civil rights movement: the Children’s Crusade of 1963. Thousands of African American children and teens marched through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, to end segregation and to inspire change and hope for the future.

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This book tells the story of an African American family. In Drew, Mississippi, in 1965, the schools were still segregated, with "all-black" schools lacking appropriate resources. The Carters, a family of sharecroppers, had had enough. They wanted their children to have an equal opportunity for a good education. So they sent their kids to the "all-white" schools.

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This chapter book takes readers through the story of the Watson's family who leave their home in Michigan and head to visit grandpa in Birmingham, Alabama. This novel shows the civil rights movement and the impact of violence on one African American family.

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This historical fiction picture book shows the challenges of traveling for African American families during the Jim Crow era. As Ruth travels with her family from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandmother, she learns that the Green Book provides a vital record of the network of services and support for African Americans on the road.

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Six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked up the steps to her new school on November 14, 1960. It was her first day at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ruby's mother had walked with her, but they weren't alone

Four U.S. federal marshals were with Ruby, too. They were there to protect her from the angry crowd of people at the school who didn't want Ruby there. Why? She was the first African American student to attend an all-white elementary school in the South.

At the time, many schools-especially in Southern states-were segregated, meaning that Black children attended different schools from white kids. Even though this had been against the law since 1954, it was still happening at William Frantz Elementary when she integrated, or attended school with children of different races.

People had been fighting against school segregation for many years, ever since the first laws to separate Black and white students were passed after the Civil War. It would take many brave people-including children like Ruby-to make people see that the laws did not provide equal education for all children and needed to change.

A long road ahead

Before the Civil War (1861-1865), enslaved children were not allowed to attend school. Soon after the war ended, the U.S. government required former slaveholding states that had fought against the Union to educate both white and Black children. Then, in 1868, Congress passed the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed every citizen equal rights and protection under the law-including equal access to education.

Not everyone agreed with these decisions. Southern leaders did not want Black people to have the same rights as white people. So most Southern states adopted a group of laws in the late 1870s, called Jim Crow laws, to segregate Black and white people. Throughout the South, nearly all public places-restaurants, parks, movie theaters, trains, swimming pools, schools, and even drinking fountains-were separated by race. It was because of these new laws that Black children could not attend the same schools as white children in the South.

Separate but not equal

Despite the 14th Amendment, Southern states were able to legally segregate Black and white children because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1896 called Plessy vs. Ferguson. After Homer Plessy, a Black man, tried to sit in a whites-only train car, the court ruled that as long as Black and white people were treated equally, they could be separated by race. This became known as "separate but equal."

But "separate but equal" wasn't truly equal-conditions in places meant for Black people were usually much worse than those for white people. For instance, Black schools often had leaking roofs, sagging floors, and windows without glass. They were also overcrowded, with too many students per teacher and not enough desks or books. If books were available, they were old, outdated ones from white schools.

Black families knew that if they wanted their children to have an equal education that these laws needed to change. And the only way to do that was through the U.S. Supreme Court.

Hope for equality

In 1951, eight-year-old Linda Brown was not allowed to attend an all-white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas. Her father, Oliver Brown, did not think this was fair and filed a lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education.

Around the same time, four other lawsuits challenging school segregation had been filed, so in 1952, the Supreme Court combined all of them into one. The justices would decide once and for all if schools could separate students based on the color of their skin.

Thurgood Marshall-who would later become the first African American Supreme Court justice-represented the five children and their families in a case called Brown vs. Board of Education. He argued that segregation was not equal and was actually harmful to children. The court agreed. On May 17, 1954, every single justice decided that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional, which meant that separating children in public schools by race went against what had been outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

School segregation was now against the law. States were ordered to begin desegregating their public schools. But changes were slow to come.

The Little Rock Nine

Some school districts defied the 1954 order by not integrating immediately or simply doing nothing. Other school boards purposefully delayed integration by years by integrating only one grade each year. Other white parents refused to send their children to integrated schools or held angry protests that were sometimes violent to prevent Black children from registering.

To help move integration along, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) decided to recruit a group of nine Black students to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The teenagers gathered on September 4, 1957, to enter the school. But the governor had called in the Arkansas National Guard, which blocked them from entering the building.

The story made headlines across America, and many people were outraged that Southern states were still defying the Supreme Court ruling. A few weeks later, on September 25, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to escort the students-now known as the Little Rock Nine-into the school. This time the students' integration efforts were successful.

The fight continues

After the Little Rock Nine, more and more Black families courageously started sending their children to all-white schools. It wasn't an easy decision for parents to make, since kids often faced bullying and loneliness. For instance, Ruby Bridges often sat in class with only her teacher because white parents didn't want their children in school with a Black student. Even Vice President Kamala Harris was part of a program in 1970 to bus children far from their neighborhoods to integrate schools in Berkeley, California.

Racial inequalities in the nation's school system still exist today, more than 65 years after the Brown decision. Schools in wealthier, mostly white neighborhoods sometimes have better technology, higher-quality books, and smaller class sizes; schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods with more people of color sometimes have older or broken computers, overcrowded classes, and buildings in need of repair.

But people continue to speak out against these inequalities and fight for equal education for all students. As former President Barack Obama said, "In the years to come, we must continue striving toward equal opportunities for all our children. ... Because when children learn and play together, they grow, build, and thrive together."

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For years, many public schools separated children based on their race. Here's how that changed so that kids of all races could go to school together.

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Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in remembered by those who witnessed history

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View the Museum's Privacy Policy here. CFC #22409 Web Design: Dillon Tyler

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Youtube video #1- African American children march

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Youtube video #1- African American children march

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Black Children Arrested & Assaulted in Birmingham

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Youtube #2- African Americans experience with desegregation of schools.  

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Youtube #2- African Americans experience with desegregation of schools.  

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“They Didn’t Want Us” – The Experience of Desegregation

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Did You Know? Jim Crow Laws | Encyclopaedia Britannica

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1) Students will analyze civil rights songs like "We Shall Overcome" and "A Change is Gonna Come." We will discuss the lyrics, meaning, and the role of music in the movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gmTxc2wGTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1fVKgWDA1w

2)  After reading The Watsons Go To Birmingham, students will complete a bingo board activity with a variety of ways to respond to the text. The example is shown above.

3) Lastly, I will ask students to recollect a time when they were excluded from something on an unfair basis. I will have students write letters to the people who excluded them, or poems expressing what it felt like to be treated unjustly. Students will be able to experience a glimpse into how African American individuals felt during this era. Students may read Martin Luther King Jr famous letter from Birmingham Jail to see the type of emotion he felt and the words he used to convey his feelings.

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Sub topic #4: Action - How can we help fight for everyone's civil rights?

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Sub topic #4: Action - How can we help fight for everyone's civil rights?

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Inquiry questions

1) In what ways can we continue to fight for civil rights today?

2) How can we peacefully make a difference in our school and community?

3) How can we use our voices to stand up for others?

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A day in the life of a young Dolores Huerta is imagined in this story of activism. When Lola, looking out her window, spots a woman and a girl getting kicked off the cable car for being unable to pay, she knows she must act. She races downstairs to help. Lola grows up to be a tireless advocate for farmworkers’ rights and uses her big voice to fight for social justice causes. This story will encourage readers to speak up when they see someone in need.

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This book will inspire young students to fight against injustice. After her mother was separated from her at border, Estela decides to use her voice in a powerful way. In this heart wrenching, autobiographical story, Estela Juarez's letters take her from the local news all the way to the national stage, where she discovers the power in her words and pledges to keep using her voice until her family―and others like hers― are together again.

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We Want to Go to School!: The Fight for Disability Rights

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We Want to Go to School!: The Fight for Disability Rights

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In this book students will see that there has been all different types of oppression. In this book students will learn how there was a time in the United States when millions of children with disabilities weren't allowed to go to public school. But in 1971, seven kids and their families wanted to do something about it. They knew that every child had a right to an equal education, so they went to court to fight for that right. This story will inspire children to fight for the rights of all people. This story will also help them see that many groups of people have fought for civil rights.

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This book will inspire students to make a difference. When we join together, anything is possible.  Children will feel empowered to make small and big changes in their lives and the world after be uplifted with this anthem.

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This beautifully illustrated story will show students that one person can make a difference and can inspire and initiate change. Don’t think because you are small, you can’t make a difference in the world for others. You can!

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This story highlights 20 protesters who helped change the world. Their actions will inspire students to also conduct peaceful protests.

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This book reinforces the idea that every child holds the power to make a difference. This book is engaging and inspiring for students of all ages.

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One of the most fascinating things about working on KidsPost is learning about kids who use their time and talents to help others. We've written about kids who are famous for their efforts - yes, a certain teen climate activist comes to mind - but we've profiled many more who become leaders in their schools or their communities. They have fostered abandoned kittens, collected eyeglasses for those who can't afford them and created artwork for the apartments of people moving out of homelessness. And they have raised awareness of countless issues, including hunger, gun violence and bullying.

To mark 20 years of KidsPost, we wanted to highlight 20 kids and teens from around the world who have noticed problems in their communities or countries and are working to solve them. We then realized that 20 is a lot to read in one sitting, so we have profiled 12 here. We would like you to help us decide on eight more to feature through the rest of this year. (Send your suggestions to kidspost@washpost.com with the subject heading "kid activist.") We hope these stories inspire you to figure out what your community needs and use your considerable energy and creativity to bring about change.
- Christina Barron, KidsPost editor
Shana Grant, 17, Washington, D.C.

Cause: Gun control and nonviolence

There were 116 homicides in the nation's capital in 2017. It took just one to change Shana Grant's life.

"I had always been interested in social justice and how I could improve my community," the 17-year-old Washington native said. "But I wasn't sure how to go about it."

After September 20, 2017, she knew. That was the night that her 16-year-old friend, Zaire Kelly, was shot to death outside his home by a teenager trying to rob him.

Zaire was the first person Shana knew personally who had died from gun violence. And she wanted him to be the last. Police statistics showed that the percentage of gun-related deaths in the city was rising.

"It was time for it to be enough," Shana said.

Believing strongly that youths can make a difference, she engaged in anti-violence activism. She was on Pennsylvania Avenue a few months later for the student-led March for Our Lives demonstration supporting gun-control measures. Other rallies and meetings followed. Last year, she was elected a D.C. youth "mayor" through a city-run program that develops future leaders.

"I have a unique perspective as an African American girl living in Ward 8 and seeing how gun violence and poverty affect families in my community," Shana said.

Now she is working on a proposal to help students who are at risk of turning to a life of crime. She calls it "preventing the school-to-prison pipeline."

At youth government meetings and town hall gatherings, she urges nonviolent solutions to problems. She calls it "practicing peace."

Here are some of her suggestions for young people feeling angry or stressed: Breathe deeply, write down your feelings, talk to someone, try to see the other person's point of view, and look for activities you enjoy, such as listening to music.

Shana expects to graduate in May from BASIS DC charter school. She wants to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, in the fall and plans to become a doctor. She is not planning on giving up her activism, though.

"Things need to be changed," she said. "I want to be part of that change."
- Marylou Tousignant
Kauã Rodolfo, 11, Brazil

Cause: Raising environmental awareness

One natural disaster after another had sent Brazil reeling. There had been a massive mudslide in the country's southeast, then a mysterious oil spill along the northeastern shore, and finally the fires in the Amazon rainforest.

That was when Kauã Rodolfo, 11, decided it was time to help. The way he sees it, the planet is in big trouble - and it's up to kids to solve it. So he started planting trees in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, one after another.

"It's important to save the planet," Kauã said, "and it's important to protect the trees, because they make us better."

Kauã is an ambassador of an organization called Plant-for-the-Planet. Conceived in 2007 by a 9-year-old German named Felix Finkbeiner, it is an international awareness campaign led by children that began with an ambitious goal: plant 1 million trees. But soon, what began as the one tree Felix planted at his school had turned into several thousands, then several hundreds of thousands, then, within a few years, 1 million.

But the campaign - and the mission - didn't stop there. It has sprouted in dozens of countries across the world. Last autumn, it reached Kauã's classroom. He immediately fell in love with the idea of planting trees and raising awareness about the environment, so he signed up for a day-long training course to become an ambassador of Plant-for-the- Planet.

What's happening in the environment is unpredictable. It's a scary time to be a kid. But Kauã doesn't think it has to be.

The planet will find a way if people can learn to work together, he says. It is a value he is trying to instill by making frequent environmental presentations and planting trees.

"I'm not scared of the future of the planet, because I'm going to help the planet," he said. "I'm going to do this. I'm going to go forward with this project. You don't have to be scared."

He's already planted seven trees. And he's excited to plant more.

"I don't know why I love nature, but if I stopped planting trees, I would be sad," he said.
- Terrence McCoy
Maimouna Ndiaye, 14, Mali

Cause: Get more girls involved in programming

The youngest kid on Mali's national robotics team wants to build the perfect assistant.

"Artificial intelligence that is extremely precise," Maimouna Ndiaye said, "for someone who is very busy."

Like her - the teenager in the West African country's bustling capital, Bamako, spends most afternoons behind a Dell laptop, coding away while pop stars such as Shawn Mendes croon through her speakers.

Maimouna, 14, is one of two girls on her high school's elite programming squad, balancing a full load of schoolwork on top of technology competitions across Africa. They create, among other projects, applications that translate Mali's mother tongue, Bambara, into French and English.

"She is a master," said her coach, Malick Traore, the technical manager at RobotsMali - and very unusual in a conservative region where some frown upon women who choose to work.

"That mentality is old-fashioned," said Maimouna, a numbers lover who applied for her first computer camp at age 9. A group of engineers had visited her school, she said, inspiring her to take the leap.

Today she sees robotics as the future - a path to speed up development in a nation where the average worker earns just more than $2,100 a year - and nudges other girls in town to pursue their machine dreams.

The first step, she tells them, is shushing the internal voice that says, "You can't do it."

"You're capable," she gushes in these pep talks. "We need everyone to get involved and build a better world."

Plus, she said, it's fun.

Maimouna has designed a remote-controlled robot on wheels that flashes a rainbow of colors. She hopes to construct something more humanlike as technology advances, an android that handles everyone's chores.

For now, she's busy studying artificial intelligence - the focus of her next competition this summer in Rwanda.
- Danielle Paquette
William Winslow, 14, North Carolina

Cause: Ending childhood hunger

William Winslow could spend the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend playing basketball in the driveway at his home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Instead, the founder of the Food Drive Kids sits at the kitchen table with his 10-year-old brother, Alexander, and their parents to plan his nonprofit's annual food drive.

"I will do whatever it takes to end childhood hunger," he said.

William was in the first grade when he first learned that as many as 1 in 5 kids in his state were at risk for hunger - including some of his classmates.

"That came as a shock," he said. "I thought everyone had the same life as me. It was a rude awakening to the real world."

He persuaded his mom to drive him to a local Food Lion. There, he talked shoppers into buying food - 1,400 pounds worth - to send home in backpacks with kids during spring break.

Seven years later, he's collected more than 55,000 pounds of food, raised $63,000 and been recognized as a Prudential Spirit of Community honoree.

He's expanded his mission, too. With Alexander working as head of advertising, Food Drive Kids also provides emergency food relief to the community, has helped build four school gardens to give kids access to healthy food and has set up two Little Food Pantries, which the brothers stock with food and toiletries each Friday.

"I didn't imagine that William would be 14 and still doing this, but the older he gets, the more passionate he is," his mom, Blythe Clifford, said.

Many children, not just William and Alexander, still help make Food Drive Kids' food drive a success. More than 100 kids from the boys' school and Scout groups turn out in April to hand out food lists to shoppers, collect purchased boxed and canned items and load them into trucks.

Said William: "We prefer kid [volunteers] over adults because they don't think something is impossible. They just want to do it, and it ends up being possible."
- Lela Nargi
Haaziq Kazi, 13, India

Cause: Ocean trash

It was the sight of a dead whale in a National Geographic documentary that moved Haaziq Kazi to act. Washed ashore, the whale had 37 pounds of plastic inside its bloated stomach.

"Two things stuck to me: The first was the magnitude of the problem, and the second was the impact it has on life," he said.

So when the time came for a school project, when students had to come up with solutions to a problem they felt strongly about, Haaziq chose to work on ocean trash.

"There are about 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the ocean," he said. "This would be enough to stack two-liter plastic bottles from here to the moon and back - twice."

Haaziq, then 9 years old, attempted to create a device that could help clean the oceans. Finished in three years, the first concept design of the device - called ERVIS - is a ship with saucers and chambers. While saucers would float on the surface of the ocean, creating a whirlpool to suck the waste inside, the chamber compartments would store the waste. The ship would then separate the waste into large, medium, small and plastic particle categories. The waste would be forwarded for recycling on land. It would be powered by renewable energy and have a mechanism to filter out marine life that may get pulled inside.

He has worked with a product designer to make a 3-D printed model, and he intends "to work on a real-life model in the next stage," said Haaziq, who is collaborating with scientists and engineers. "This is literally a moonshot project with huge funding requirements."

While the ship is the long-term goal, he has not stopped his fight against plastic. Six months ago, he set up the ERVIS Foundation to bring a "generational change," by educating kids about the effects of plastic usage. The foundation has created an app to track daily consumption of plastic, provide tips on how to cut down plastic use and sell zero-waste products.

"You are never too young to make a difference," says the eighth-grader from the city of Pune in western India. Haaziq was invited to New York in 2017 for a Ted-Ed talk about his project. In his free time, he likes having fun with Nintendo video games and playing the piano.

"When I grow up, I see myself as problem solver," said Haaziq, who admires technology entrepreneur Elon Musk. "He challenged the status quo and made what people perceive as impossible possible, and that's what I want to do."
- Niha Masih
Genesis Butler, 13, California

Cause: Animal rights and environmental protection

Genesis Butler has three dogs and loves all animals. Just not on her dinner plate.

When she found out where her favorite meal - chicken nuggets - came from, she became a vegetarian, someone who doesn't eat meat. She was 3 years old.

At age 6, she went further, going vegan. A vegan doesn't eat any animal products, including eggs and dairy products.

Then she decided to persuade her family and friends to join her.

"It's not as hard as you think," said Genesis, now 13. Her parents and three younger siblings became vegan, although Genesis likes to tell how she once caught her mom hiding in a closet with a chocolate bar.

Genesis's passion led her to start the nonprofit GenesisForAnimals.org to help animal shelters and sanctuaries. She began with $5,000 saved from talks she gives. One talk, posted online in 2017, has been viewed by thousands of people. Her delivery includes rattling off statistics faster than the Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg throws fastballs.

When she was 8, she went before the city council in Long Beach, California, where she lives, to support "Meatless Mondays." The advisory measure, which recommends that people eat more plant-based food, passed. A TV reporter called Genesis "the most effective speaker" there.

Last year, she wrote to Pope Francis, asking him to give up meat for Lent. A spokesman replied, saying the pope is proud of her.

On the state level, Genesis worked to promote the passage of laws requiring prisons and nursing homes to offer vegan meals, and limiting the sale of cosmetic products that use animal testing.

More recently, she expanded her activism to include protecting the environment, saying that raising animals for food is "the primary cause" of pollution, loss of biodiversity and water shortages.

"If people can change the way they eat, it will have an immediate impact on the planet," she said.

For her efforts, Genesis was chosen for the 2020 "Marvel Hero Project" about "real kids making a real difference." She's the star of her own mini-comic book and will appear in a Disney video.

But she doesn't think of herself as a hero, just an ordinary kid who enjoys painting, writing and sleepovers with friends.

"And I still love chicken nuggets," she said, "but now they are vegan."
- Marylou Tousignant
Naudia Greenawalt, 10, and Linkin Eger, 10, Wisconsin

Cause: Raising awareness about childhood cancer

When Naudia Greenawalt's friend Linkin Eger was facing cancer, Naudia had a lot of questions. What kind of medicine would Linkin take? Was it possible to get rid of the cancer? Would her friend still be the same goofy, fun-loving Linkin?

Linkin was 2 years old when doctors found his brain tumor. Surgeons removed most of it. But a few years later, the tumor came back, and Linkin needed chemotherapy - medication that kills cancer cells.

Naudia, who attends school with Linkin in West Allis, Wisconsin, wanted to understand what her friend was going through - not only the medical parts, but also what it was like to be a regular kid dealing with a serious illness. She decided to turn Linkin's story into a book, sell it and donate the profits to Linkin's family. "I was trying to create awareness about childhood cancer," said Naudia, 10.

Before writing the book, Naudia joined Linkin at hospital appointments, took pictures and interviewed his family and medical team. In 2017, "My Friend Linkin" was published.

"I thought it was awesome," said Linkin, now 10. The book sold 500 copies and became the subject of an Emmy-nominated documentary produced by Milwaukee PBS.

In the book, Naudia describes what it was like to see Linkin go through chemotherapy. "To be honest, it was a little bit scary, but once I got used to everything, I wasn't scared anymore."

Linkin is done with treatment now, and he's stable. He and Naudia are continuing to promote childhood cancer awareness by interviewing other young patients and writing their stories.

"They are a great team," said Kelly Eger, Linkin's mom. "Linkin brings the experience, and Naudia brings the questions."

Last year, Linkin finished his first book, "My Friend Mackenzie," about an 8-year-old girl with brain cancer. "If Mackenzie had a superhero power, it would be to help people beat cancer. I wish I had that super power too," Linkin wrote.

In the future, Naudia wants to become a primatologist like Jane Goodall and study monkeys. Linkin wants to be a brain surgeon.

But first, they'll write more books.
- Gina Rich
Sidney Keys III, 14, Missouri

Cause: Improving literacy among boys

From a young age, Sidney Keys III loved to read. But finding characters he could relate to was a challenge, because most of the books at his school library featured white protagonists. "I'd never been exposed to African American literature in a fun way," Sidney said.

That changed when Sidney's mother, Winnie Caldwell, took him to EyeSeeMe, an African American children's bookstore in University City, Missouri. Sidney, then 10 years old, picked up "Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire: The Lemonade Escapade," by Ty Allan Jackson. "I couldn't put that book down, because it was about a black boy who looked like me," said Sidney, now 14.

Sidney wanted his peers to experience the same excitement in finding characters that resonated with them. In 2016, he created Books n Bros, a reading club for boys ages 7 to 13. The club, which now has 100 members, focuses on African American literature and meets each month to discuss a book; past topics have included history, sci-fi and fantasy genres.

Meetups take place in the Saint Louis area, but out-of-town "bros" can participate by Skype. Caldwell, who manages the club's business and communications, said Books n Bros wants to eventually offer the program in schools.

The club is open to boys of all races and backgrounds and has an "Adopt a Bro" option enabling donors to sponsor memberships, which cost $25 a month.

People assume boys don't enjoy reading, Sidney said. But he hasn't found that to be true.

"Now that kids are having fun while reading, boys don't want to leave the meetups," he said.

"Marvel's Hero Project," a new Disney Plus series recognizing kids who are making a positive impact, profiled Sidney in a documentary and comic book titled "The Spectacular Sidney." The video premiered in January.

Getting to be in the documentary was "definitely pretty awesome," Sidney said. But his favorite part of the Books n Bros experience has been helping boys like him improve their literacy skills and enjoy themselves at the same time.

"It really warms my heart knowing they're having fun," he said.
- Gina Rich
Milena Radoytseva, 16, Bulgaria

Cause: Encouraging better behavior online

Have you ever been a bully? Or not stopped a bully when you had the chance? Those are important questions, says Milena Radoytseva, who is on the youth panel of the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre (SafeNet). She remembers when she was in a group chat a few years ago, and another kid became the target of mean attacks.

"It started as a joke," she said, so she didn't do anything about it. "I sat and watched."

"We won't let that happen again," declared Milena, who helped develop the youth panel's new campaign to raise awareness about online aggression. The approach isn't to criticize kids, but to educate them about how to change their perspective - and hopefully their behavior. For example, they made a video featuring an angry boy furiously typing messages on his computer. When he sees that his little sister's drawings show him as a superhero, he realizes he hasn't been acting like one.

"The Internet will never be this totally happy place with rainbows," she said. But the experience can be improved by being thoughtful and careful, added Milena, who purposely keeps her social media profiles private.

Being part of a team that encourages kids to speak out is new for Milena. She didn't know that opportunities like this existed a year ago. But when she entered (and lost) an essay competition, she wound up at an event promoting youth participation. That's how she found SafeNet, and she has since joined other groups, including the youth network Megaphone and the Eurochild Children's Council. Milena jokes she had to make her parents a chart so they could understand all of her activities.

At a recent children's rights event in Brussels, Belgium, Milena took the microphone and introduced herself - unexpectedly in French, the native language of most of the audience.

"She took the moment and put everyone at ease," said Alice Hagger-Vaughan, Eurochild's child participation and policy officer.

Milena's best languages (other than her native Bulgarian) are English and German, and she hopes that communication plays a big part in her future. When she was younger, she pretended to host a talk show in her living room. Her goal now isn't so different: "I want to speak about things that need to be spoken about."
- Vicky Hallett
Demetri Sedita, 16, Florida

Cause: Protecting Tampa Bay waterways

Each January, the Gasparilla Pirate Festival attracts crowds to Tampa, Florida. They line Seddon Channel to watch a pirate ship pretend to attack the city. They cheer and toss thousands of glittery bead necklaces.

Demetri Sedita knows the dark side of these festivities. Many beads wind up in the city's waterways, where they're eaten by marine animals or break down into tiny bits of toxic plastic that "work their way up the food chain," said Demetri, a high school sophomore. They pose a threat to the area's shorebirds, manatees, dolphins, stingrays, common fish such as sheepshead and "to all levels of the ecosystem."

He and his 14-year-old brother, Ethan, founded Green Gasparilla in 2015 to try to stop the problem. They organize post-festival bead cleanups - with parents and friends using weighted hooks to snag the strands, or with volunteers in scuba gear. More critically, they work to keep beads from getting into the water to begin with.

The month before the parade, Demetri and Ethan do media interviews to spread the word that "tossing beads is simply littering," Demetri said. For 2020, the boys also enlisted the help of Tampa's mayor, Jane Castor, and appeared with her as she announced her Bead-Free Bay initiative.

"Our goal is to let the public know that future generations won't be able to enjoy the waterways because of their reckless practices," Demetri said.

He was frustrated to see that, despite his efforts, most people continued to throw beads this year. But he's determined to figure out a way to make Green Gasparilla's message and mission more effective.

Last August, Demetri was named a "youth ambassador" by the ocean conservation group, EarthEcho International. Speaking with adult mentors and activist peers has given him ideas for improvement. One is drafting sample anti-bead legislation to present to Tampa's lawmakers.

Exploring with his underwater drone is a favorite activity - Demetri once spotted a Civil War shipwreck in the Hillsborough River. It's also part of his advocacy strategy.

"When I showed the mayor underwater footage of all the beads, she was shocked," he said.

If he can similarly shock his fellow Floridians, they might take bigger, better action in time for next year's festival.
- Lela Nargi
Alice Imbastari, 10, Italy

Cause: Picking up trash

Wiggling her toes in the sand, Alice Imbastari surveys a stretch of Mediterranean coastline near her home south of Rome. But she's not looking at the waves or even the paraglider soaring above. She's searching for trash. "See that?" she shouts, and rushes to grab a ripped chip bag.

In minutes, she fills up a sack with all sorts of things that shouldn't be here - deflated balloons, hot dog wrappers, a hair comb. They range in size from a chunk of plastic foam to a tiny dot of plastic. "Birds think they're eggs and eat them," said Alice, who dreams of being a vet when she grows up.

Alice has learned a lot about litter in the past year since she spoke in Rome in front of a crowd of thousands gathered for the first Global Climate Strike for Future. "I counted to 100, and then I gave up," she said of the crowd.

Although giving that speech - and others that have followed - was scary, Alice is more terrified for the environment. That's why she begged her parents to let her protest just like her role model, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage activist who has attracted worldwide attention with her campaign to fight climate change.

Because they wouldn't let her skip classes every Friday, Alice came up with another plan. "From school, I looked out the window and I could see the sea," she said. So she got trash bags, rubber gloves and a pair of chimney tongs, and started doing weekly beach cleanups. She tries to reuse whatever possible, often to make crafts.

"When she was smaller, we used to take shells. Now we take plastic," said her mother, Paola Bernasconi, who has noticed other changes, too. For snacks, Alice prefers cut-up veggies instead of sweets wrapped in packaging. For her 10th birthday last May, she asked to plant fruit trees.

It's often lonely on the beach - other kids from school haven't been interested in helping, and some even bullied her about her activism. So she recently switched schools. But she won't stop cleaning.

"I go home, and there's plastic again the next day," Alice said. "It keeps coming."
- Vicky Hallett Illustrations by Natalya Balnova for The Washington Post. Art direction by Alla Dreyvitser. Design by Victoria Adams Fogg.

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12 kids who are changing their communities and our world

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12 young people from around the world are tackling problems in their communities and the world.

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Amazing things! For them, but also those who listen. The evidence is all around us - think Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Boyan Slat and William Kamkwamba. When children are empowered to speak up in their communities, it builds self-sufficiency and creates long-term change.

That's why every day, in communities all over the world, World Vision child sponsors are supporting kids to find their voice and make it heard. Meet 5 kids who've learned the power of using their voice.

Justice, 15-year-old, Ugandan boy who aspires to be a lawyer.

"We are using a children's parliament to highlight the issues affecting children emotionally, physically and mentally."

15-year-old Justice wants to be a lawyer one day, but he is already fighting for justice as a passionate member of a children's parliament, which the World Vision child sponsorship programme set up to amplify children's voices in the decisions that affect them. And that's exactly what it's achieving - already the children's parliament has successfully campaigned for by-laws to protect children from exploitation and harm at mobile discos, and for a Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Bill to be passed by the national parliament last year. Now, Justice has set his sights on reducing teenage pregnancy, which skyrocketed during the two years of education shutdowns in Uganda .

18-year-old Phally aspiring to be a child leader in Cambodia.

"We are all born the same, so we should have equal rights. I learned about my rights and how to protect myself. I wanted to become a leader so other children know about their rights, and I want them to know about my story and show them that I can do anything."

18-year-old Phally grew up under a shadow of discrimination and shame. That compounded the other problems she faced, living in extreme poverty and suffering from complex health issues. But with her sponsor's support, she learned how to protect herself and others from violence, abuse and harm and other life skills like self-confidence and public speaking. Now she is a leader in a youth club and is teaching other kids and adults how to make sure they are safe and protected, too. She wants every child in her community to feel as confident and empowered as she is and she is determined to use her voice until they do.

"When I am finished school, I want to see the other children become the next generation of leaders," she says.

17-year-old Savina advocates for gender equality in Albania.

16-year-old Isaac, a hygiene brigadier in Nicargua.

14-year-old Lavanya, a karate trainer, personal hygiene fanatic and child leader in India.

From karate to personal hygiene, child rights and personal protection, Lavanya and the other kids in her community have had the chance to explore lots of new ideas through the children's group and are now sharing them with others. Lavanya says she has learned to see the issues that affect her community with new eyes - as problems that they can be solved. Now, she is raising her voice with other children in her community to tackle them, one by one.

"I am not scared to talk to anyone," she smiles.

Childsponsorship helps children find and use their voice. The results can change lives.

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5 kids who've learned the power of using their voice

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What happens when children are seen, and make themselves heard? Amazing things! That's why every day, in communities all over the world, World Vision child sponsorship supports kids to find their voice and feel empowered to make it heard.

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Youtube video #1- How To Make A Difference In The World

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Youtube video #1- How To Make A Difference In The World

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1) Students will create posters for a issue they are passionate about (examples; hunger, pollution, gender inequality, etc). If students want to do this on a local level they can write to town officials or the superintendent of our school district.

2) Students will than take an oath to always try to stand up to injustice and make a difference, no matter how small. They will fill out a graphic organizer on different ways they can make a difference. They then will transfer the information from the organizer onto with my own two hands writing template. Student work will be hung up and be part of a bulletin board for the hallway. The display inspiration is shown below.

3) Lastly, students will make a video in which they talk about the issue they are passionate about and why it's important to care. Students will have creative freedom in how they record this. We will then have a viewing party in which students will watch each other videos and have the opportunity to ask questions.