Examining Rosa's Refusal (to sit down) and the Montgomery Bus Boycott Through Children's Literature

1. Examining Rosa's Refusal
(to sit down) and the
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Through Children's Literature
Eric Groce, Appalachian State University
Elizabeth Bellows, Appalachian State University
Tina Heafner, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

2. ―Rosa Parks the Tired‖—Kohl’s Critique
1. Rosa Parks was a poor, tired seamstress
2. Segregation
3. Blacks had to give up seats in the front and move to the
back
4. Rosa sat in the front of the bus
5. Rosa refused to move
6. Boycotting the buses
7. The boycott succeeds

3. ―She Would Not Be Moved: The Story of Rosa Parks
and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts‖—Kohl’s Critique
1. Mrs. Parks the strong, respected community leader with a history of
activism – perseverance & courage
2. Confront to Overcome: Overt, institutionalized, sanctioned inequality
in South
3. ―Colored‖ Section– 5-10 rows back
4. Mrs. Parks sat in the front of the ―Colored Section‖
5. With clear resolve, a well intentioned Mrs. Parks refused to obey the
unfair laws of segregation
6. Montgomery Bus Boycott = coordinated action-- planned &
organized (1949-1955)– an event waiting to happen—Mobilized
quickly
7. 381inconvenient days & a call to lead--boycott ended & struggle for
equality began— hope for social change and justice is democracy

4. 20 years have passed…
• Students (and teachers)
further removed from
events of the Civil Rights
Movement
• Rosa Parks and MLK are
ubiquitous in elementary
school curriculum
• Teachers rely on picture
books to supplement
―official‖ curriculum

5. Research Questions
• More than 20 years after Kohl’s critique, how do
current picture books treat the story of Rosa Parks
and the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
• How do these books mention or treat
– civil rights activism of Rosa Parks prior to her
arrest on December 1, 1955?
– the notion of segregation and Jim Crow laws?
– involvement of the community in the bus boycott?

6. The Books

7. Methodology
• Qualitative content analysis
• Books published at least 10 years since Kohl’s
critique
• Books were coded by collapsing Kohl’s myths to
construct sixteen variables, organized into three
clusters:
• Prior Activism of Rosa Parks
• Segregation
• Community Involvement

8. Findings: Prior activism
• 3/11 of the books mentioned prior work
with organized groups
• 2/11 of the books mentioned previous
disputes by RP

9. Prior Activism
Rosa Parks at the
Highlander School; 1955
Baton Rouge Bus
Boycott; June 1953
E.D. Nixon; civil rights and voting
rights activist
Rosa Parks takes local black youth to
integrated Freedom Train;
December 27,1947
Women’s Political Council (WPC); founded 1946;
Mary Fair Burks, President 1946-1950; Jo Ann
Robinson, President 1950-1960
Claudette Colvin arrest
Montgomery Advertiser;
March 2,1955
Montgomery Advertiser;
June 25,1949

10. Findings: Segregation
• 11/11 mentioned segregation
• 4/11 mentioned the term Jim
Crow when describing
segregation
• 4/11 gave examples of inferior
public facilities
• 8/11 expressed moral
judgment (author voice) toward
segregation

11. Findings: Segregation
• 6/11 mentioned
geographical region
when describing
segregation
• 6/11 treated civil rights
as an ongoing
struggle, whereas 5/11
treated it as resolved
• 10/11 mentioned the
Montgomery bus code
(laws on buses)

12. Segregation
Montgomery Advertiser
January 1956
Montgomery Advertiser
January 9,1956
Montgomery Advertiser;
December 15,1955
Montgomery Advertiser
March 8,1956
Montgomery Advertiser
January 18,1956

13. Findings: Community
involvement
• 11/11 Length of boycott mentioned
• 0/11 mentioned the boycott within the
context of long-term planning
• 6/11 mentioned church participation

14. Findings: Community Involvement
• 4/11 mentioned affiliated
groups
(MIA, NAACP, WPC)
• 3/11 mentioned leaders
besides MLK and RP
• 0/11 mentioned Browder
v. Gayle
• 0/11 prior bus incidents
with community members
(besides RP)

15. Community Involvement
Montgomery Improvement Association
―rolling churches‖
Alabama Journal;
December 4,1955

16. Discussion
• ―Rosa is Tired‖ narrative not
as prevalent
…BUT
• More iconic representation
of Rosa Parks and MLK
• Silences voices of prior
activism and community
involvement

17. Implications
• Students internalize
inaccurate or incomplete
historical narratives
(―and Jim Crow flew away‖)
• Teachers are still
unprepared to facilitate
discussions about race
• Need for historical
thinking resources and
practices

18. ―That was day three-eighty-two, when Jim Crow flew
away. He had no more power in Montgomery.‖
Montgomery Advertiser; April
23,1960
library
schools
Montgomery
Advertiser;
February 27,1968
Birmingham News; April 23,1960
Birmingham Post
Herald; August 4,1964
Montgomery Advertiser; April
28, 1962
parks
Montgomery Advertiser;
December 31,1958
Alabama Journal; April 4,1961
Alabama Journal;
April 15,1960
Montgomery Advertiser;
February 25,1965

19. What do we do?
• Van Sledright’s (2009) ―Source Work‖
– Identification
– Attribution
– Judging perspective
– Reliability assessment (corroboration)
• Don’t only use ―good‖ books…use a
collection and allow students to critique
and engage in the work of historians—
interpretations substantiated by evidence

20. Conclusion
• Teachers and
teacher educators
should model critical
investigations of
history through the
use of picture books
• History should be
―uncovered‖
• Publishers need to
balance profits with
accuracy, authenticit
y, and complexity

21. Questions?
{the following 13 slides contain a bibliography}

22. References
• Anderson, Nancy A. Elementary Children’s Literature: The
Basics for Teachers and Parents. Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon, 2002.
• Apple, Michael W. Ideology and Curriculum. 3rd ed., New
York, NY: Routledge, 2004.
• Baldwin, Lewis and Aprille Woodson. Freedom is Never
Free: A Biographical Portrait of E.D. Nixon, Sr. Atlanta, GA: A.
Woodson, 1992.
• Beach, Richard and Others. “Exploring the “critical” in critical
content analysis of children’s literature.” 58th Yearbook of the
National Reading Council, 129-143, 2009.

23. References (cont’d)
• Bednarz, S. and Others. Build Our Nation.
Atlanta, GA: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
• Brophy, Jere and Janet Alleman. Powerful Social Studies for
Elementary Students. Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher
Education, 2007.
• Burns, Stewart. Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus
Boycott. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina
Press, 1997.
• Chanko, Pamela. Rosa Parks: Bus Ride to Freedom. New
York, NY: Scholastic, 2007.
• Colwell Miller, Connie. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus
Boycott. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2007.

24. References (cont’d)
• Davis Pinkney, Andrea. Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks
Inspired a Nation. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2008.
• Dubois, Muriel. Rosa Parks. Mankato, MN: Bridgestone
Books, 2003.
• Duncan Edwards, Pamela. The Bus Ride that Changed History:
The Story of Rosa Parks. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
• Epstein, Terrie. Interpreting National History:
Race, identity, and pedagogy in classrooms and communities.
New York, NY: Routledge, 2009.

25. References (cont’d)
• Foster, Stuart and Others. “Prospects for Teaching Historical
Analysis and Interpretation: National Curriculum Standards
for History Meet Current History Textbooks.” Journal of
curriculum and Supervision 11.4. (1996): 367-385.
• Freedman, Russell. Freedom Walkers: The Story of the
Montgomery Bus Boycott. New York, NY: Holiday
House, 2006.
• Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY:
Continuum, 1970.
• Friese, Kai. Rosa Parks: The Movement Organizes. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Silver Burdett Press, 1990.

26. References (cont’d)
• Galda, Lee and Bernice E. Cullinan. Literature and the
Child, 5th ed., Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Wadsworth
Group, 2002.
• Garrow, David J. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the
Women Who Started It. Knoxville, TN: University of
Tennessee Press, 1987.
• Giovanni, Nikki. Rosa. New York, NY: Scholastic, 2005.
• Graetz, Robert. Montgomery: A White Preacher’s Memoir.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1991.
• Gray, Fred D. and Others. The Children Coming On: A
Retrospective of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Montgomery, AL: The Black Belt Press, 1998.

27. References (cont’d)
• Gray, Fred D. Bus Ride to Justice: Changing the System by the
System, Revised ed., Montgomery, AL: New South
Books, 2013.
• Hampton, Henry, Steve Fayer, and Sarah Flynn. Voices of
Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from
the 1950s through the 1980s. New York, NY: Bantam
Books, 1990.
• Hare, Kenneth M. They Walked to Freedom, 1955-1956: The
History of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC, 2005.
• Harrington, Walt. “Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus
Boycott.” In The Civil Rights Movement. Edited by Paul A.
Winters. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2000.

28. References (cont’d)
• Holloway, Jennifer and John Chiodo. “Social Studies IS Being
Taught in the Elementary School: A Contrarian View.” Journal
of Social Studies Research, 33.2. (2009): 235-261.
• Hoose, Phillip. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. New
York, NY: Melanie Kroupa Books, 2009.
• Hope Fine, Edith. Rosa Parks: Meet a Civil Rights Hero.
Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2004.
• Howard, Tyrone C. Why Race and Culture Matters in Schools:
Closing the Achievement Gap in America's Classrooms. New
York: Teachers College Press, 2010.
• Huck, Kiefer and Others, Children’s Literature in the
Elementary School. 8th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

29. References (cont’d)
• Jacobs, James S. and Michael O. Tunnell, Children’s
Literature, Briefly. 3rd ed. Columbus, OH: Pearson
Education, 2004.
• Johnson, Denise. The Joy of Children’s Literature. 2nd ed.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2012.
• Kittinger, Jo S. Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights.
Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek, 2010.
• Kohl, Herbert. “The Politics of Children’s Literature: The Story
of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.” Journal of
Education, 173.1. (1991): 35-50.
• Kozol, Jonathan. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of
Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: Crown
Publishers, 2005.

30. References (cont’d)
• Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me. 2nd ed. New
York, NY: Touchstone, 2007.
• Lukens, Rebecca J. A Critical Handbook of Children’s
Literature. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.
• Mara, Wil. Rosa Parks. Revised ed. New York, NY:
Scholastic, 2007.
• McLaren, Peter. “Critical Pedagogy: A Look at the Major
Concepts.” In The Critical Pedagogy Reader, 2nd ed., edited
by Antonia Darder, Marta P. Baltodano, and Rodolfo D.
Torres, 61-83. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009.
• Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design
and Implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

31. References (cont’d)
• Mitchell, Diana and Others. Children’s Literature: An
Invitation to the World. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education, Inc., 2005.
• Orfield, Gary, John Kucsera, and Genevieve Siegel-Hawley. E
Pluribus… Separation: Deepening Double Segregation for
More Students. Los Angeles: UCLA Civil Rights
Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, 2012.
• Parker, Walter C. Social Studies in Elementary Education. 14th
ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2012.
• Parks, Rosa and Jim Haskins. Rosa Parks: My Story. New
York: Puffin Books, 1992.

32. References (cont’d)
• Phibbs, Cheryl. The Montgomery Bus Boycott: A History and
Reference Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009.
• Pingry, Patricia A. Meet Rosa Parks. Nashville, TN: Ideals
Children’s Books, 2008.
• Roberson, Houston B. Fighting the Good Fight: The Story of
the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, 1865-1977. New York, NY:
Taylor & Francis, 2005.
• Schreier, Margrit. Qualitative Content Analysis in Practice.
London: Sage, 2012.
• Temple, Martinez and Others. Children’s Books in Children’s
Hands. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2002.

33. References (cont’d)
• Tomlinson, C., M. Tunnell, and D. Richgels. “The Content and
Writing of History in Textbooks and Trade Books.” The Story of
Ourselves (1993): 51-62.
• Tunnell, Michael O. and Richard Ammon. “The Story of
Ourselves: Fostering New Perspectives.” Social Education
60.4. (1996): 212-215.
• Vandergrift, Kay E. Children’s
Literature: Theory, Research, and Teaching.
Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1990.
• White Marilyn D. and Marsh, Emily E. “Content Analysis: A
Flexible Methodology.” Library Trends 55.1. (2006): 22-45.

34. References (cont’d)
• Wills, John S. “Putting the Squeeze on Social
Studies: Managing Teaching Dilemmas in Subject Areas
Excluded from State Testing.” Teachers College Record 109.8.
(2007): 1980-2046.

35. Additional Primary Source Materials
• http://historicalthinkingmatters.org/rosaparks
/1/materials/textbook/