Events

February is Black History Month, and in honor of it, we will be holding a special event with award winning children’s author Elizabeth Partridge for her new title, Marching for Freedom. Only 44 years ago in the United States , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was leading a fight to win blacks the right to vote. Ground zero for that movement became Selma , Alabama. Author Elizabeth Partridge leads us straight into the chaotic, passionate, and deadly three months of protests that culminated in the landmark march in 1965. However, she tells the story by focusing her eye on the courageous children who faced the terrifying violence accompanying the journey, while marching alongside King.  This is an inspiring book that honors all the children who participated in the Selma to Montgomery March during the Civil Right Movement’s fight for the vote. Stunningly emotional black-and-white photos accompany the text, and make this book a tribute that is to be seen as well as read.  But one cannot talk about that March in 1965, without also honoring the music that carried it through. Partridge discusses some of the spirituals that the children would sing while marching in order to keep them hopeful and strong. It was the children themselves who created the verse, “We Are Not Afraid,” to the song We Shall Overcome, letting the power of those words carry them forward even as violence erupted around them. We will be holding this event as an open discussion with Ms. Partridge and audience members, facilitated by Julie Minnis, and highest of honors, we will be joined by Gateway School’s 2nd and 5th graders as they sing the song that yesterday’s children sung to give them the strength to carry on.   PS—As an added bonus, in honor of Black History Month, Bookshop Santa Cruz will be offering Marching for Freedom at 10% off its cover price the entire month of February.