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Black Students, White Supremacists, and the Battle for America's Schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia
by P. O’Connell Pearson
This "detailed, fascinating" (Booklist, starred review) nonfiction middle grade book explores a deeply troubling chapter in American history that is still playing out today: the strange case of Prince Edward County, Virginia, the only place in the United States to ever formally deny its citizens a public education, and the students who pushed back.
In 1954, after the passing of Brown v. the Board of Education, the all-White school board of one county in south central Virginia made the decision to close its public schools rather than integrate. Those schools stayed closed for five years.
While the affluent White population of Prince Edward County built a private school—for White children only—Black children and their families had to find other ways to learn. Some Black children were home schooled by unemployed Black teachers. Some traveled thousands of miles away to live with relatives, friends, or even strangers. Some didn't go to school at all.
But many stood up and became young activists, fighting for one of the rights America claims belongs to all: the right to learn.
"Fighting for the Forest (2019) and Fly Girls (2019), Pearson begins with a useful preliminary chapter on Virginia history from 1607 to 1950, emphasizing attitudes toward Black people. The main text focuses on events in Prince Edward County during the tumultuous 1950s, 1960s, and beyond, showing how the lack of schooling impacted certain individuals and describing changes in the county through 2021." —Booklist (starred review)
"The timeliness of this essential work highlights an important point in U.S. history, exploring class privilege and structural racism. B&w photographs feature throughout; a timeline concludes." ―Publishers Weekly
"It demonstrates the resilience of those who fought segregation while never downplaying how much was lost, and it provides evidence of ways the damage continues to have an impact today." ―Kirkus Reviews
This information about We Are Your Children Too was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
P. O'Connell Pearson has always taught history—first in the high school classroom and then as a curriculum writer and editor across grade levels. Ready to share her enthusiasm for stories of the past in a new way, she earned an MFA in writing for young people from Lesley University and now writes narrative nonfiction for ages ten and up. Her books have received recognition from Bank Street, NCSS, the New-York Historical Society, Arizona Library Association, and more. When Pearson is not writing about history, she can often be found talking about history as a volunteer with the National Park Service in Washington, DC.
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