The School Is Not White! by Doreen Rappaport

Illustrated by Curtis James.40 p., Jump At The Sun, 2005. Although the United States Supreme Court declared school segregation illegal in 1954, it still existed in the South in 1965. This book tells the true story of the profoundly courageous family of Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter, who were African American and sent their seven school-age children to a “white” school. Before school even begins, people shoot at their house with rifles. The owner of the plantation where Matthew and Mae Bertha work as sharecroppers fires and evicts them when they refuse to withdraw the children from the “white” school. Other children at the school harass them constantly, year after year, and teachers and administrators are verbally abusive also. But Mae Bertha and Matthew want a better future for their children than sharecropping, and they believe passionately in the importance of education in attaining this. So they continue to encourage their children, who are in great pain from this experience. Eventually, other African American children enroll in the “white” schools. One afterword explains how the story came to be written, and another summarizes the now-grown children’s accomplishments, quoting their dreams for their own children. Suggested readings are also given. The Carter family’s story is illustrated with beautiful, somber oil paintings. Deeply moving, this story offers inspiration for courage and for working to realize equality. Ages 7-11