Examining Rosa's Refusal (to sit down) and the Montgomery Bus Boycott Through Children's Literature
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Examining Rosa's Refusal (to sit down) and the Montgomery Bus Boycott Through Children's Literature Eric Groce, Appalachian State University Elizabeth Bellows, Appalachian State University Tina Heafner, University of North Carolina - Charlotte
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Presentation for the annual meeting of the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies. Using Kohl's critiques of the "Rosa the tired" narrative commonly found in textbooks and children's books, we performed a content analysis of recent (2001-2013) trade books that focus on Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Our findings indicate this powerful civil rights narrative has improved yet remains inaccurate. We combine our findings with suggested primary sources that help students and teachers work to "uncover" narratives by authenticating children's books through VanSledright's "Source Work".
Transcript of Examining Rosa's Refusal (to sit down) and the Montgomery Bus Boycott Through Children's Literature
Examining Rosa's Refusal (to sit down) and the Montgomery Bus
Boycott Through Children's Literature
Eric Groce, Appalachian State UniversityElizabeth Bellows, Appalachian State University
Tina Heafner, University of North Carolina - Charlotte
“Rosa Parks the Tired”—Kohl’s Critique
1. Rosa Parks was a poor, tired seamstress2. Segregation3. Blacks had to give up seats in the front and move
to the back4. Rosa sat in the front of the bus5. Rosa refused to move6. Boycotting the buses7. The boycott succeeds
20 years have passed…
• Students (and teachers) further removed from events of the Civil Rights Movement
• Rosa Parks and MLK are ubiquitous in elementary school curriculum
• Teachers rely on picture books to supplement “official” curriculum
Research Questions
• More than 20 years after Kohl’s critique, how do current picture books treat the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
• How do these books mention or treat – civil rights activism of Rosa Parks prior to
her arrest on December 1, 1955– the notion of segregation and Jim Crow
laws– involvement of the community in the bus
boycott?
The Books
Methodology
• Qualitative content analysis• Books published at least 10 years since
Kohl’s critique• Books were coded by collapsing Kohl’s
myths to construct sixteen variables, organized into three clusters:• Prior Activism of Rosa Parks• Segregation • Community Involvement
Findings: Prior activism • 3/11 of the books mentioned prior
work with organized groups• 2/11 of the books mentioned
previous disputes by RP
Prior ActivismRosa Parks at the Highlander School;
1955
Baton Rouge Bus Boycott; June 1953
Rosa Parks takes local black youth to integrated Freedom Train;
December 27,1947
Women’s Political Council (WPC); founded 1946; Mary Fair Burks, President 1946-1950;
Jo Ann Robinson, President 1950-1960
E.D. Nixon; civil rights and voting rights activist
Montgomery Advertiser; June 25,1949
Claudette Colvin arrestMontgomery Advertiser;
March 2,1955
Findings: Segregation
• 11/11 mentioned segregation
• 4/11 mentioned the term Jim Crow when describing segregation
• 4/11 gave examples of inferior public facilities
• 8/11 expressed moral judgment (author voice) toward segregation
Findings: Segregation
• 6/11 mentioned geographical region when describing segregation
• 6/11 treated civil rights as an ongoing struggle, whereas 5/11 treated it as resolved
• 10/11 mentioned the Montgomery bus code (laws on buses)
SegregationMontgomery Advertiser
January 9,1956
Montgomery Advertiser January
1956
Montgomery Advertiser January 18,1956
Montgomery AdvertiserMarch 8,1956
Montgomery Advertiser; December 15,1955
Findings: Community involvement
• 11/11 Length of boycott mentioned• 0/11 mentioned the boycott within
the context of long-term planning• 6/11 mentioned church participation
Findings: Community Involvement
• 4/11 mentioned affiliated groups (MIA, NAACP, WPC)
• 3/11 mentioned leaders besides MLK and RP
• 0/11 mentioned Browder v. Gayle
• 0/11 prior bus incidents with community members (besides RP)
Community InvolvementMontgomery Improvement Association
“rolling churches”
Alabama Journal; December 4,1955
Discussion
• “Rosa is Tired” narrative not as prevalent
…BUT• More iconic
representation of Rosa Parks and MLK
• Silences voices of prior activism and community involvement
Implications
• Students internalize inaccurate or incomplete historical narratives
(“and Jim Crow flew away”)
• Teachers are still unprepared to facilitate discussions about race
• Need for historical thinking resources and practices
“That was day three-eighty-two, when Jim Crow flew away. He had no more power in
Montgomery.”
schoolslibrary
parks
Montgomery Advertiser; February 27,1968
Birmingham Post Herald; August 4,1964
Montgomery Advertiser; April 23,1960
Birmingham News; April 23,1960
Montgomery Advertiser; April 28, 1962
Alabama Journal; April 4,1961
Montgomery Advertiser; February 25,1965
Montgomery Advertiser; December 31,1958
Alabama Journal; April 15,1960
What do we do?
• Van Sledright’s (2009) “Source Work”– Identification– Attribution– Judging perspective– Reliability assessment (corroboration)
• Don’t only use “good” books…use a collection and allow students to critique and engage in the work of historians—interpretation based on evidence!
Conclusion• Teachers and
teacher educators should model critical investigations of history through the use of picture books
• History should be “uncovered”
• Publishers need to balance profits with accuracy, authenticity, and complexity
