the watsons go to birmingham—1963 christopher paul curtis introduction background discussion...

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Christopher Paul Curtis

Introduction

Background

Discussion Starters

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The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Christopher Paul Curtis

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Introduction

Kenny has problems.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Introduction

His friend stole his toys.

And he thinks his lazy eye makes him look funny.

His older brother, Byron, is mean to him.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Introduction

One day Kenny’s family decides to take a cross-country trip from Michigan to Alabama.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Introduction

Kenny’s parents have decided that Byron needs to spend a summer in Birmingham with his grandmother, who’ll teach him how to behave.

Kenny thinks this sounds too good to be true. Will one of his problems really go away?

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Introduction

But in Birmingham, Kenny’s problems collide with America’s problems.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

After the Civil War, laws and constitutional amendments were passed to give equal rights to African Americans, but the laws were often ignored, especially in the South.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

For many years, African Americans in the South had to live with segregation.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

This meant African Americans had to use separate bathrooms, water fountains, beaches, and other public facilities.

African Americans were also forced to ride in a different section of busses and go to separate schools.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

But as long as segregation laws existed, African Americans found ways to protest them.

These protests grew especially strong in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

People like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., held sit-ins and protests, gave speeches, organized boycotts, and formed organizations to help people fight for equality.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

But not everyone in the South wanted segregation to go away.

Some white Americans tried to stop the changes—sometimes in horrible and violent ways.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Background

On Sunday, September 15, 1963, at 10:22 A.M., a bomb exploded in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Four African American girls were killed.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Discussion Starters

Discuss (1)

• Since 1963, how has the United States made progress in fighting racism and discrimination?

• Where do barriers between ethnic groups still exist?

• What can you do to break down these barriers?

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: Discussion Starters

Discuss (2)

• What effects do you think the church bombing had on members of the civil rights movement?

• How would you have responded to the bombing if you were in Birmingham at the time?

• What political actions or ideas today have affected your family? How have they affected you?