How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement
Starred review from December 19, 2022
Born in Chicago, civil rights activist Diane Nash (b. 1938) grows up in a diverse, integrated community until moving to Tennessee for college, where she first encounters segregation: “Two signs for bathrooms: WHITE and COLORED.” Determined to “change wrong into right” through peaceful protest, Nash demonstrates against the ban on integrated seating at lunch counters, confronts Nashville’s mayor, and participates in freedom rides, all along showing that “Love is fierce./ Love is strong./ Love is loud!” Wallace’s emotive second-person text condenses Nash’s extensive activism into an inspiring meditation on love as the heart of justice, while Collier’s watercolor and collage illustrations bring artful dimension to Nash’s nonviolent resistance. Back matter includes creators’ notes and suggested reading material. Ages 4–8.
December 1, 2022
Grades 2-4 This picture-book biography honors Diane Nash, a significant figure in the civil rights movement during the 1960s and beyond. Born and raised in Chicago, Nash left home to attend college in Nashville but was appalled by the injustice and indignities endured by Black people living under segregation laws in the South. A proponent of nonviolent resistance, she worked for change through protests such as the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins and the Freedom Rides. Though harassed, threatened, jailed, and sometimes afraid, she was never deterred from working for justice. Written in direct but poetic phrases with occasional rhymes, the text traces Nash's path from childhood through the tumultuous 1960s, promoting nonviolent principles to bring about change and persuading others to join the movement. The book's section on the lunch counter sit-ins is particularly effective. Collier, who previously collaborated with Wallace on Between the Lines (2018), contributes a series of strong, dynamic illustrations created with watercolor and cut-paper collage. A fitting portrayal of Diane Nash, a civil rights leader who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.
COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from January 1, 2023
"During the 1960s, Diane Nash was one of the most influential and effective leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, yet most people don't know who she is." Wallace's latest picture-book collaboration with Collier (Between the Lines) seeks to correct that. The second-person narrative highlights major moments in Nash's life, beginning with her birth in Chicago and moving quickly through her childhood and high school years. When she moves to Tennessee to attend Fisk University, Nash experiences for the first time the overt segregation from which her parents wanted to shield her. This begins her commitment to civil rights activism, starting with integrating Nashville's lunch counters. "You stay BRAVE. You won't cave. Sit-in after sit-in. As hot coffee burns and sugar turns hair white, you focus on love. And when you get arrested for ordering a sandwich, more students fill the seats each week -- one hundred, two hundred, three hundred strong!" Collier's watercolor and collage illustrations beautifully complement the text. The book opens with images of Nash's parents cradling her as a baby and then of Nash, as a small child, being hugged by her grandmother, highlighting the love that encouraged her activism. In later images, Nash stares directly at the reader with a look of determination on her face. The back matter includes an author's note that discusses gender discrimination within the movement, an illustrator's note, a timeline, a bibliography, and video resources. Nicholl Denice Montgomery
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2023
"During the 1960s, Diane Nash was one of the most influential and effective leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, yet most people don't know who she is." Wallace's latest picture-book collaboration with Collier (Between the Lines) seeks to correct that. The second-person narrative highlights major moments in Nash's life, beginning with her birth in Chicago and moving quickly through her childhood and high school years. When she moves to Tennessee to attend Fisk University, Nash experiences for the first time the overt segregation from which her parents wanted to shield her. This begins her commitment to civil rights activism, starting with integrating Nashville's lunch counters. "You stay BRAVE. You won't cave. Sit-in after sit-in. As hot coffee burns and sugar turns hair white, you focus on love. And when you get arrested for ordering a sandwich, more students fill the seats each week -- one hundred, two hundred, three hundred strong!" Collier's watercolor and collage illustrations beautifully complement the text. The book opens with images of Nash's parents cradling her as a baby and then of Nash, as a small child, being hugged by her grandmother, highlighting the love that encouraged her activism. In later images, Nash stares directly at the reader with a look of determination on her face. The back matter includes an author's note that discusses gender discrimination within the movement, an illustrator's note, a timeline, a bibliography, and video resources. Nicholl Denice Montgomery
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Starred review from January 27, 2023
Gr 2-6-Love can change something that is bad and harmful into something that is inclusive and equal. Diane Nash was a brave and effective civil rights activist and leader that helped break down racial and sexual barriers in the United States. Many people do not know her contributions to the advancement of social justice. Nash was raised in Chicago during World War II where racial segregation was at the fringes of her life; when she moved to Nashville, TN, to attend Fisk, a historically Black university, she faced racial segregation head on. Wallace tells Nash's story using text boxes in a prose poetry style that highlights her personal values and characteristics in bold font. Collier dynamically complements Wallace's words with engaging illustrations using watercolor and collage. Readers of all ages can be motivated and inspired by this heartfelt story of devotion and dedication to civil rights. This is a stunning, little-known story, and a welcome volume. VERDICT Ending injustice through love and nonviolence, a quaint notion in these turbulent times, is a necessary message; purchase for public, school, and classroom libraries alike.-Laura Ellis
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from January 1, 2023
Diane Nash led thousands and helped to pass the Voting Rights Act. Born in 1938, emerald green-eyed and well-loved Nash learned from her mother, father, and grandmother to value unity over division and expect equal treatment, regardless of locale or circumstance. When Nash moved from Chicago's South Side to her grandmother's home in segregated Tennessee, she realized that if she wanted equality, she had to fight for it. Peacefully. She learned to combat racism through sit-ins and marches and by confronting politicians who would dismiss her if they could. The second-person narrator speaks directly to Nash, reciting in lyrical, sometimes rhyming prose how she systematically fought for African American freedoms and rights throughout her life. This picture-book biography illustrates how Black women of the civil rights movement, like Nash, who had just as much impact as men like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, have received much less attention than they deserve. Collier's moving, stylized, recognizable watercolor and collage illustrations capture the love that surrounds Nash that strengthens her resolve to show her love to the next generation, including her own unborn child, steadfastly pursuing social conditions that would build a better future. Wallace's text lends buoyancy to the narrative, making it a memorable read-aloud. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A poignant and powerful portrayal of the life and work of an unsung civil rights activist. (author's and illustrator's notes, timeline, video interviews, further reading, quote sources, bibliography, historical photographs) (Picture-book biography. 7-11)
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
January 1, 2023
"During the 1960s, Diane Nash was one of the most influential and effective leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, yet most people don't know who she is." Wallace's latest picture-book collaboration with Collier (Between the Lines) seeks to correct that. The second-person narrative highlights major moments in Nash's life, beginning with her birth in Chicago and moving quickly through her childhood and high school years. When she moves to Tennessee to attend Fisk University, Nash experiences for the first time the overt segregation from which her parents wanted to shield her. This begins her commitment to civil rights activism, starting with integrating Nashville's lunch counters. "You stay BRAVE. You won't cave. Sit-in after sit-in. As hot coffee burns and sugar turns hair white, you focus on love. And when you get arrested for ordering a sandwich, more students fill the seats each week -- one hundred, two hundred, three hundred strong!" Collier's watercolor and collage illustrations beautifully complement the text. The book opens with images of Nash's parents cradling her as a baby and then of Nash, as a small child, being hugged by her grandmother, highlighting the love that encouraged her activism. In later images, Nash stares directly at the reader with a look of determination on her face. The back matter includes an author's note that discusses gender discrimination within the movement, an illustrator's note, a timeline, a bibliography, and video resources.
(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)