Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement

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Modern Age
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Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement
Author: Wallace, Sandra Neil
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Time Period: Modern Age
Time Frame: 1938–1967
Geographic Area: North America
Country: United States
Topics: Civil Rights
Genre: Non Fiction
Reading Age: Lower Elementary Middle Grade
Format: Picture Book
Published: 2023


American History > Modern Age > Civil Rights Movement

Meet Diane Nash, a civil rights leader who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, in this “poignant and powerful” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) nonfiction picture book that is “a stunning, little-known story, and a welcome volume” (School Library Journal, starred review) that “highlights major moments in Nash’s life” (The Horn Book, starred review).

Diane grew up in the southside of Chicago in the 1940s. As a university student, she visited the Tennessee State Fair in 1959. Shocked to see a bathroom sign that read For Colored Women, Diane learned that segregation in the South went beyond schools—it was part of daily life. She decided to fight back, not with anger or violence, but with strong words of truth and action.

Finding a group of like-minded students, including student preacher John Lewis, Diane took command of the Nashville Movement. They sat at the lunch counters where only white people were allowed and got arrested, day after day. Leading thousands of marchers to the courthouse, Diane convinced the mayor to integrate lunch counters. Then, she took on the Freedom Rides to integrate bus travel, garnering support from Martin Luther King Jr. and then the president himself—John F. Kennedy.

Emily's Review

What a stunning picture book! I picked this up at the library and I'm so glad I spotted it. I only recently heard about Diane Nash and this is the first book I've read about her - I need to remedy that immediately. Diane was raised in Chicago somewhat insulated from segregation and all of its horrors. She was taught from a young age that she has value and worth. So when she moved to Tennessee and witnessed Jim Crow in all its ugliness she knew she had to do something about it. The art is gorgeous and pairs so well with the story. This is a gorgeous book with an important message. All of my kids are grown but I'm tempted to buy myself a copy.

I loved reading about her life and how she used non-violence to fight against racism and segregation. She was even asked by JFK to join the committee that would ultimately help to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I really appreciated reading the author's note at the back of the book as well as the bibliography - I just added a bunch more books to my TBR!

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