📖 We Were the Fire: Birmingham 1963

It is 1963 and the civil rights movement has never yet been stronger. Figures like Dr. Martin Luther King and other activists are carrying the hammer of the African American civil rights movement to Washington. In the midst of this, yet another group of previously unheard of people begin to voice their concerns in Birmingham, the place that Dr. King had called it the most segregated place in the country, and Rufus Jones is in the crowd. The story begins when the adults are first beginning to try and get attention for the civil rights movement. Realizing that Rufus's parents are both going to be fired if they participate in any rights protests, Rufus and other friends decide to do it themselves. After all, who can fire children? On a morning in May 1963, Rufus and his friends meet up with a group of thousands of other children to peacefully protest. When police officers and other firefighters begin to turn up, the situation becomes more tense. That is until they begin to spray high-pressured water at the children. "We Were the FIre" is an inspirational story that centers around one of the most key historical American events of all time; the civil rights movement of the 60s. Up until then, African Americans had been segregated at best and enslaved at worst for centuries in a nation that called itself the greatest guardian of freedom. I think that this story is great because it shows that aspect of U.S. history and clearly demonstrates what it actually felt to be a child in this period of American history, knowing that this story came from real, historical information. For these reasons, I highly urge people to read "We Were the Fire: Birmingham 1963".

年,民权运动正处于前所未有的高峰。马丁·路德·金博士等领袖和活动家正将非裔美国人民权运动的"战锤"带到华盛顿。在这样的背景下,另一群此前几乎无人倾听的群体开始在伯明翰发声——这座城市曾被金博士称为"全国最隔离的地方",而鲁弗斯·琼斯就在这人群之中。 故事从成年人刚开始努力为民权运动争取关注时展开。意识到如果参加抗议,鲁弗斯的父母都会被解雇,鲁弗斯和他的朋友们决定由他们自己站出来。毕竟,谁能解雇孩子呢? 1963 年 5 月的一个清晨,鲁弗斯和他的朋友们与成千上万名孩子聚集在一起,进行和平抗议。当警察和消防员出现时,局势逐渐变得紧张。直到他们开始用高压水枪向孩子们喷水,紧张局势骤然升级。 《我们曾是火焰》(We Were the Fire)是一部鼓舞人心的作品,聚焦于美国历史上最重要的事件之一——20 世纪 60 年代的民权运动。在那之前,非裔美国人在这个自称"自由的最大守护者"的国家里,几个世纪以来最好的处境是被隔离,最糟的则是被奴役。我认为这本书非常出色,因为它展现了美国历史的这一面,并且基于真实的历史资料,生动地呈现了在那个时代作为一个孩子的真实感受。基于这些原因,我强烈推荐大家阅读《我们曾是火焰:伯明翰 1963》。