Birmingham, 1963 - Poetry

Bibliography

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2007. BIRMINGHAM, 1963. Honesdale: Wordsong. ISBN 978-1-59078-440-2.

Plot Summary

            Divided into two parts, BIRMINGHAM, 1963 is free verse poetry, based on actual events. The first section is the main narrative poem, depicting different childhood events that took place on the birthday of a fictional African American girl. However, interspersed within those commonplace childhood events are accounts of marching with other African American children protesting for Civil Rights and a description of the horrors of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church by the KKK, which resulted in the deaths of four young girls who were attending Church that day. The second part of the book is comprised of four individual poems each paying homage to one of the girls who died: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Denise McNair and Carole Robertson.

Critical Analysis

            In Carole Boston Weatherford’s book each of the five poems, the main narrative poem and the four individual poems, are written in free verse. There is no rhyme scheme present because the subject matter does not lend itself to rhyme. The creative purpose behind this type of free verse poetry is to conjure up intense images and create powerful emotions.  For example, from the main narrative poem, “The day I turned ten someone tucked a bundle of dynamite under the church steps and lit the fuse of hate.” Those final five words evoke the sense of impending devastation and portray the true terror that occurred on that day. A second example comes from the individual poem about Carole Robertson, “Carole, who thought she might want to teach history someday or at least make her mark on it.” Again, these well-chosen words show that each of these girls not only had a life, aspirations, and goals for their futures, but also wanted to make a difference in the world. The poems vividly demonstrate the senseless act of violence that took away those dreams.
               The main poem, written from the point of view of a child, facilitates understanding by other children. It allows them to grasp the images and themes being presented. The four ‘In Memoriam’ poems are also written to assist a young reader’s comprehension. The powerful subject matter is portrayed in a manner that focuses more on the senseless waste of human life and potential rather than intense images of destruction. Weatherford's Authors Note at the end of the book provides insight into the themes being represented in the poems. She presents the reader with information not only on the bombing, but on how the bombing fit into the larger picture of the Civil Right's movement.

            The illustrations in the book create forceful juxtapositions. Photographs illustrate the main poem. These photographs help convey the fictional narrator’s sense of being torn between two worlds, childhood and racism. On the right hand sides of every page of the main poem are archival photos of events that took place during the Civil Rights movement. Examples include children and adults marching in protest, KKK members, images of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech in Washington DC and photos of the damage at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. On the left hand sides, intermingled among the text, are photos of everyday childhood items, Barbie clothes, Bobbie socks, pencils and erasers. With the four short poems at the end, the left hand side of the page simply contains text, while the right hand side shows a photo of the girl against a black background with the words ‘In Memoriam’ on the bottom in gray. This presents a simple, yet powerful reminder of the cost of hate.

 All of the photographs are in black and white and convey a sense of history. There are however, slashes of red on every page of the main narrative poem. They are fragmented lines meant to evoke the destruction and loss of life that occurred on that terrible day. There is also an Author’s Note at the end of the book which delves into the history surrounding the bombing and its aftermath. Also included in the Author's Note is detailed information about the photos.

Review Excerpts and Awards

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Winner 2008

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor Book 2008

COOPERATIVE CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTER CHOICES review 2008: “Her spare and deeply affecting narrative poem gradually builds to the church bombing in that city in which four African American girls were murdered. There is a shocking numbness in the matter-of-fact voice of the fictional narrator, a young girl describing significant events in that year.”

KIRKUS review 2007: “Exquisitely understated design lends visual potency to a searing poetic evocation of the Birmingham church bombing of 1963.”

Connections

·       Other books by Carole Boston Weatherford that deal with African Americans and the struggle for freedom include REMEMBER THE BRIDGE: POEMS OF A PEOPLE ISBN 0399237267 and FREEDOM ON THE MENU: THE GREENSBORO SIT INS with illustrations by Jerome Lagarrigue ISBN 0142408948.

·       After reading Weatherford’s book, students would read the inspirational parts of Martin Luther King’s speech and discuss the question ‘What are your dreams?’

·       The Birmingham Public Library has extensive Digital Collections dealing with the bombing which can be used by educators in lessons dealing with the history of this period. They can be found at this website http://www.bplonline.org/resources/Digital_Project/SixteenthStBaptistBomb.asp.