Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by: Andrea Davis Pinkney
A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pinkney, A. D.2010. SIT -IN: HOW FOUR FRIENDS STOOD UP BY SITTING DOWN. Ill. by Pinkney, J. B. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-07016-4
B. PLOT SUMMARY
This picture book is about Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.
Andrea Davis Pinkney uses poetic, powerful prose to tell the story of these four young men, who followed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's words of peaceful protest and dared to sit at the "whites only" Woolworth's lunch counter. Brian Pinkney embraces a new artistic style, creating expressive paintings filled with emotion that mirror the hope, strength, and determination that fueled the dreams of not only these four young men, but also countless others.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS( INCLUDING CULTURAL MARKERS)
Andrea Davis Pinkney captures the peaceful struggle of four students who wanted nothing more than a doughnut and coffee with cream on the side as they sat at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro North Carolina in 1960. Their simple request cost them years of rejection, violence, and hate.
The students’ upbringing, fueled by Dr. King’s words “We must meet hate with love”, among others, were ingrained so wholeheartedly in them that they risked their lives to change the culture of hate that has existed for over one hundred years. All in the name of integration. The people’s reaction and treatment of the black students demonstrates years of being taught to hate and to practice it. To them, people of color were of no value and were inferior. Their culture became a norm that resulted from years of discrimination, racism, and hate. Although laws have been enacted to stop this practice, this learned behavior still persists to this day.
The students’ petition of coffee and doughnuts can be interpreted as a metaphor that means the integration of two opposing cultures (coffee and doughnut) along with the cream (or peace and love) to go with it. The students’ peaceful, strong, and unwavering persistence, however, brought about a change to this culture. As more people began to see and realize the injustices being committed, their efforts were rewarded as it helped bring about change.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal: “Through effectively chosen words, Andrea Pinkney brings understanding and meaning to what four black college students accomplished on February 1, 1960, by sitting down at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, NC.”
Children’s Literature: “A wonderful book for all students and particularly useful for Black History Month and to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.”
Booklist: “Even young children will grasp the powerful, elemental, and historic story of those who stood up to oppressive authority and changed the world.”
E. CONNECTIONS
Have students listen to a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and discuss it with the class.
Have students share their opinions on whether racism or segregation continue to exist.
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