While The World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes Of Age During The Civil Rights Movement (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
It's a rare and delightful experience to read an eyewitness account of history, and Carolyn Maull McKinstry's stories about growing up in Birmingham during the Civil Rights movement is engaging and challenging. I learned things I never did in American history, and I appreciated the inclusion of excerpts from famous speeches by Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. I can hardly believe that people survived such a tumultuous decade, and McKinstry's story is proof that even decades after such horrific events, the tragedy left its mark.I found this book incredibly relevant for today's world. We might not have Jim Crow laws or state-sanctioned segregation but events such as the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown demonstrate that the dream of racial equality has not yet been reached. Reading McKinstry's account of life in the South in the 1960s is a challenging reminder of the dangers of not treating people as equals.McKinstry offers forgiveness for those who orchestrated the bombing of her church, where four of her friends died, and issues a challenge to all who claim the name of Christ to love our neighbors and work for justice. I am inspired by her words and humbled by the courage of those who lived through this time of history and can tell about it. This is a great history lesson, a true tribute to these victims and gave the Civil Rights Movement a child's perspective. But - the writer gets bogged down in that she inserts MLK speeches, documentation of the movement. I was hoping to read about what she and the other children were feeling as a result of these precious children being killed. I shed tears when she wrote about how they had to go back to school the next day and act as if nothing had happened. When the children were together, what did they say to each other? What were the adults saying when in the privacy of their homes. You know kids heard parents talking - they always do. I was really looking for more personal insight. As a result if reading this book and watching Spike Lee's documentary on this subject - in my travels I have stopped at this church and seen the monument erected on the sis of the church where the bombing occurred, to honor these 4 little girls and there horrible untimely deaths. I am old enough to remember coming home from church that Sunday and hearing the devastating news of the KKK bombing the church and the deaths of those girls, just a few years younger than me. **There is too much hate in this world!**
What do You think about While The World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes Of Age During The Civil Rights Movement (2011)?
it was awesome. it really forces you to see the world through the eyes of this brave woman!!!
—caitlin
Interesting story but needs some major editing.
—Alexa
