Now Read This: “While the World Watched,” by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

For many people, the civil rights movement is nothing more than a distant memory or a bit of black and white text in a history book, but Carolyn Maull McKinstry remembers more than faded photos or flashy headlines. She experienced the prevalence of segregation in her hometown and tasted the freedom found in sitting at the front of a bus or ordering a Coke at a previously unwelcoming establishment. She felt the building shake around her when a bomb exploded in the 16th Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, and cried over the lives lost in that tragic event.

As an African American woman who spent the majority of her life in Birmingham, Carolyn’s retelling of the civil rights movement brings a unique perspective to the topic. Her story is not only the tale of a bystander who saw these events unfolding, but also the journey of a teenage girl who suffered the effects of segregation and racism. Her deep connection to many major events in the civil rights movement allows her to share more than just facts and figures. In “While the World Watched,” McKinstry manages to convey the fear and courage of many civil rights activists and normal citizens who wanted to make a difference.

While the civil rights movement started long before and continued for years after the bombing of McKinstry’s church, the event became the most significant part of her life. Due to the monumental effect of this bombing, McKinstry’s account of the movement’s major events revolves around this one moment in her life, which she uses to tie the fight for civil rights to the everyday lives of many African Americans. Her insistence on showing the people and the way they were emotionally affected by these events gives this interpretation of the movement a multi-faceted view many other discussions about civil rights fail to share.

I definitely would recommend “While the World Watched” for anyone who is interested in the civil rights movement and would like a more personal story than is found in a typical history book. If you are interested in similar titles, you might try “Black Boy” by Richard Wright, which conveys the story of the author as he grew up in the Jim Crow South. These titles can be found as print books at the library.