Sing, Juandalynn, sing!

epresentation
SING,
JUANDALYNN,
SING!

Slavery
Slavery means that people are
deprived of their freedom and
made the property of other
people.
Slavery has existed since ancient
times. Back then, people defeated
in war were enslaved and even
stolen.
According to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
slavery is now forbidden.
However, even today there are
still people who are not free.
This even includes children.
Slave Auction
African men, women and children
were sold at auctions. They went
to their new owners for the
highest price that was offered
and then became their property.
Slave owners were allowed to
do what they wanted with their
slaves.
1619
The Transatlantic
Slave Trade
The first Africans reached the
Americas as early as 1526.
From 1619, however, there was
a brisk trade in people brought
over by European slave traders
from the African continent and
transported to America by ship.
Many of the people died on this
long journey because they did not
get enough to eat, were brutally
beaten, or became deathly ill
because of horrible conditions on
overcrowded ships.
When they arrived, the enslaved
people were sold like livestock
at public auctions. They were
mainly used as workers on
plantations. European countries
made a lot of money from this
slave trade.
All in all, about twelve million
men, women and children were
enslaved and shipped overseas.
Forced Labor
on Plantations
In the American South,
generations of Africans were
kept as slaves by white people
for a very long time.
They had to work hard, but they
received no money. They were
mostly treated very badly.
Slaves worked a variety of jobs:
As servants in white people’s
homes or laborers on tobacco,
rice, and cotton fields.

1863
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th
President of the United States
of America from 1861 until his
assassination in 1865. In 1863, he
abolished slavery in the United
States with the Emancipation
Proclamation.
1955
Emmett Till
1820
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman’s grandmother
was brought to America on a
slave ship. She and her family
became the property of a
Maryland plantation owner.
Tubman was born around 1820
with the name Araminta Ross.
She was enslaved throughout her
childhood.
She had to work hard and was
regularly badly abused. In 1844,
she married the free Black man,
John Tubman. From then on
she called herself Harriet. In
1849 she fled to Pennsylvania,
walking about 90 miles. The
state of Pennsylvania was one
of the northern states where
slavery no longer existed.
After that, Tubman became an
escape agent for the Underground
Railroad organization. She
returned to Maryland 13 times
and helped about 70 people
escape from enslavement.
Tubman later worked as a nurse
and cook and was involved in the
women’s suffrage movement.
She died in 1923.
1912
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was born in 1912
in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
He was a civil rights activist and
one of the key leaders of the Civil
Rights Movement. He has been
a lifelong champion of social
justice, nonviolence, and rights
for queer people.
Rustin organized the Freedom
Rides with George Houser. In
1948, he traveled to India to
learn more about non-violent
resistance and civil disobedience
from the leaders of the Mahatma
Gandhi movement.
In 1953, Rustin was arrested
for being gay. At the time
homosexuality was illegal in the
United States. After his arrest, he
stayed in the background of the
Civil Rights Movement.
In 1956, Rustin advised Ralph
David Abernathy and Martin
Luther King Jr., who were
planning the Montgomery Bus
Boycott. They later founded the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) together.
Emmett Till was born in Chicago,
Illinois, in 1941. Illinois was one
of the northern states that did
not have segregation laws.
In 1955, Till was visiting his
uncle who lived in the southern
state of Mississippi. In the South,
segregation was legal, separating
white and Black people in
public places such as separate
schools, parks and restrooms.
The facilities for Blacks were
less well equipped. Till went to
a small shop to buy candy and
soda. The store owner, a white
woman, later claimed that he
grabbed and whistled at her.
Four days later, he was
kidnapped, tortured and killed
by her husband and his halfbrother.
Emmet Till was 14 years
old.
The perpetrators were brought
before a court, but were
acquitted by a white jury. The
shopkeeper later admitted that
the teen neither touched her or
treated her rudely.

About representation
Would you like
to learn more?
Would you like to learn more
about Juandalynn R. Abernathy
and her life?
When you see this mouth icon,
you can find more detailed
information.
Want to learn more about the
fight for equal rights? You can
find more information under the
fist icon.
Do you want to learn more about
music? You will find additional
information under the ear icon.
Below the speech bubble icon,
you will find quotes. Quotes are
sentences that a person actually
said or wrote.
Representation is a series of childrens’ books devoted to portraying a diverse
world for our budding readers. We strive to create books for kids who cannot
find themselves represented in children’s literature. We believe there is a
richness in telling these stories not only for them, but for all kids.
We should work to create books that offer diverse stories with diverse
characters, who are given complex and positive personalities and
circumstances. Diverse, positive and multi-dimensional depictions of
characters not only have the power to make children feel acknowledged
and celebrated, but also help them identify with real and imagined
heroes. Diverse stories and characters give all children the opportunity
to engage with others even if their immediate context does not always
offer such interactions. Diversity in books reminds children that
although people are different, we all share a common humanity, equal
value and equal status.
This can inspire children to go into the wider world with positive ideas
and images of themselves and of of all the differences around them. This
will serve them in the encounters they make along their life’s journey.
Michell Sibongiseni Mpike,
founder of INKLUSIVE Books in Oslo, Norway
This book is dedicated to all the brave civil rights activists and leaders who
heroically battled for equal rights. Your sacrifices will never be forgotten.
A book by Juandalynn R. Abernathy
Text by Philippe Zwick Eby
Illustrations by Carolina Vázquez
Published by Sarah B. Zwick-Eby and Philippe Zwick Eby
Expert advice: Donzaleigh Avis Abernathy, Kwame Luthuli Abernathy, Leslie Casimir,
and Dr. Silke Hackenesch
Diversity Advisor: Guilherme Biri Francisco
With kind support from Dr. Janice R. Franklin, Andrea Westermann and Michael Bürgi
Thank you very much, Leslie Casimir and Nicole Zwick Eby
© editions mālama
www.editionsmalama.com
ISBN 978-3-949326-03-5

SING,
JUANDALYNN,
SING!
A book by Juandalynn R. Abernathy
Text by Philippe Zwick Eby I Illustrations by Carolina Vázquez
editions mālama
representation

Juandalynn R. Abernathy
Juandalynn Ralpheda Abernathy
was born on November 30, 1954
in the city of Montgomery,
Alabama. Her parents were
Juanita Odessa Jones Abernathy
and Ralph David Abernathy.
Abernathy is a classical singer,
voice teacher and choir director,
based in Germany. She is married
to Sven-Torben Haderup and has
a son, Sören-Niklas Abernathy
Haderup.
This is her true story.
Alabama
Alabama is a state in the United
States. There are 50 states in the
U.S. Alabama is located in the
South.
Hello! My name is Juandalynn
Ralpheda Abernathy.
I was born in the Southern United
States in the state of Alabama.
Back then it wasn’t a good place to live for people
with brown skin like me.
As a child, I lived in constant fear.
Do you want to know why?
In this book I will tell you.
Southern States
In the southern states, slavery
thrived until 1865. After slavery
was abolished, the southern
states resisted by implementing
segregation laws.
United States
of America
Montgomery, Alabama

This is my mother and my father.
Mother was a teacher at a college.
My daddy was a pastor. He worked in a church.
Both were always very busy.
Juanita Abernathy
Juanita Odessa Jones Abernathy
was born in 1931 in Uniontown,
Alabama. She was a college
professor, businesswoman and
civil rights activist.
Abernathy had five children:
Ralph David Jr., Juandalynn
Ralpheda, Donzaleigh Avis, Ralph
David III, and Kwame Luthuli.
She received multiple death
threats for her civil rights
activities, but was never
intimidated. Abernathy died in
2019.
Ralph David Abernathy
Ralph David Abernathy was born
in 1926 in Linden, Alabama. He
was a college professor, pastor of
a Baptist church and a civil rights
activist.
His grandfather had been
enslaved. Abernathy‘s father
owned a huge farm in Linden
and supported a school for Black
children.
He was one of the most important
leaders of the American Civil
Rights Movement. He co-founded
the Montgomery Improvement
Association, the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC), and
organized the Montgomery Bus
Boycott.
After the assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr. in 1968, he became
head of the SCLC. Abernathy died
in 1990.
Ralph David Abernathy
says:
“Juandalynn, you are the
first child of the Civil Rights
Movement.”

Segregation
Segregation means that people
are singled out and judged
because of their race. The color
of the skin usually plays a role in
this.
In the United States, it has long
been forbidden for Black and
brown-skinned people to use the
same restrooms, restaurants,
movie theaters, schools and
businesses as white people.
There were “whites only”
and “coloreds’ only” drinking
fountains and benches. In buses,
Black people were only allowed to
sit in the back.
March 2, 1955
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin was born in
1939 in Birmingham, Alabama.
She was a nurse and a civil rights
activist.
On March 2, 1955, 15-year-old
Colvin wanted to catch the bus
home after school. She was in a
seat designated for Black people.
All seats on the bus were
occupied. When a white woman
got on, the bus driver asked
Colvin and three other Black
women to vacate their seats. She
refused and was arrested and
detained.
She and the women later sued
the city of Montgomery and the
state of Alabama. On June 5,
1956, the district court ruled that
segregation on public buses was
unconstitutional.
We lived in the town of Montgomery.
A lot happened there back then.
Black people were angry because white people
treated them unfairly.

I remember our church very well.
Daddy stood in front and talked about equal rights
for all people.
I was too young to understand everything.
I just wanted to hear the choir sing.
December 1, 1955
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee,
Alabama in 1913.
She worked as a seamstress and
was a secretary in the National
Organization for the Advancement
of Black People, of the NAACP, in
Montgomery.
On December 1, 1955, Parks
wanted to take the bus home
after work. She sat in the back of
the bus in a seat for Black people.
But a white man wanted to sit
there. Parks refused and was
arrested.
1955-1956
The Montgomery
Bus Boycott
On December 5, 1955, Rosa
Parks was penalized with a fine.
The Woman‘s Political Council
had organized a bus strike for
that day. Black people did not
use public buses, but instead
carpooled, took taxis, or walked.
Almost all African Americans in
Montgomery participated.
That very same evening, about
50 civil rights activists, including
Ralph David Abernathy and
Martin Luther King Jr., met
and formed the Montgomery
Improvement Association.
King was elected chairman of the
organization. More than 7,000
people gathered at Holt Street
Baptist Church that same evening.
King announced that the bus
boycott would be extended.
In all, the Montgomery Bus Boycott
lasted 381 days. It is considered
the beginning of the Civil Rights
Movement.

Classical Music
Classical music originated in
Europe from the 13th to the early
20th centuries.
Classical music is either
instrumental or a mixture of
vocal and instrumental music.
This music was always played in
the Abernathy household. Ralph
David Abernathy also preferred
classical music in his church.
His favorite composers were
Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig
van Beethoven and Gioachino
Antonio Rossini.
Ever since I was a baby, I loved music.
Every morning I woke up to music.
The music came from the radio
that was next to my crib.
It was wonderful music.

One day while I was sleeping,
someone placed a bomb underneath
our house. Mother rushed to grab me.
As a toddler, I had no idea what was
going on.
January 10, 1957
The Bomb Attack
When Juandalynn Abernathy
was two years old, white men
bombed her home. That means
they wanted to kill Juandalynn
and her family with a bomb.
Fortunately nobody was hurt.
The house, however, was totally
destroyed. The Abernathy family
had to move in with friends.
January 10, 1957
The Formation of
the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference
Ralph David Abernathy and
Martin Luther King Jr. founded
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference in 1957 to organize
the non-violent fight against
segregation in the United States.
King was president of the
association. Abernathy became
treasurer and secretary.

Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born
in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He
was a Baptist minister and civil
rights activist.
King suffered from segregation
as a child. His best friend at
the time was white. When the
two boys started school, they
were separated from each other
because Black children were not
allowed to go to school with
white children.
But even after school, the friends
were no longer allowed to see
each other. The white boy‘s
parents had forbidden it since he
was Black.
King was already fighting racism
and discrimination at the age
of 14. As a student, he learned
about Mahatma Gandhi and
his teachings on non-violent
resistance. He was deeply
impressed with Gandhi and
remained convinced of the idea
of nonviolence throughout his
life.
After graduating from college,
King became a pastor at
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery.
Ralph David Abernathy and King
met as students. They became
best friends and companions.
A lot happened at home back then.
We had a lot of visitors. The women and men talked
and planned and ate together. My mother cooked
for our guests. Sometimes it smelled like fried steak
with broccoli and okra. That’s when I knew Uncle
Martin was there.

Uncle Martin’s daughter was my best friend.
Her name was Yolanda, but everyone called her Yoki.
We went to the nursery together.
We were too young to speak yet, but we
understood each other anyway.
Yolanda Denise King
Yolanda Denise King was the first
child of Coretta Scott King and
Martin Luther King Jr. She was
a civil rights activist and actress.
King was born in 1955 in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Her younger siblings were Martin
Luther III, Dexter Scott, and
Bernice Albertine.
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was born in
Marion, Alabama in 1927. She
was a civil rights activist.
Her parents worked as farmers.
As a child, King had to help her
parents pick cotton. Later she
studied classical singing. In
1953, she married Martin Luther
King Jr. and became one of his
biggest supporters.

1960
Move to Atlanta
In 1960, the King family moved
from Montgomery to Atlanta.
Atlanta
Atlanta is the capital of the state
of Georgia. Georgia is located in
the southeastern United States.
The land was originally inhabited
by the Cherokee and Muscogee
people. These were Native
Americans (also called indigenous
people). They baptized the place
Pakanahuihli, which means
standing peach tree.
From 1823, the first whites
settled in the area and expelled
the indigenous people. They first
named the city Terminus and
later Atlanta.
Yoki was very brave. I was a bit shy.
Together we were a team. We stood by each other.
Then Yoki moved to Atlanta with her family.
I was very sad.
I thought: “How am I supposed to live
without Yoki?”
United States
of America

Atlanta, Georgia
Montgomery, Alabama
“We’re visiting Uncle Martin in Atlanta!”
daddy announced some months later.
“I will see Yoki again!” I exclaimed happily.
“But remember,” my daddy said, “We don’t go
to those toilets on the train. So you have to go
at home.” But the train journey took a long time
and I still had to go to the toilet. It was the
only time I was in a restroom for coloreds.
Colored
Colored was a disrespectful term
for Black people and it was used
on public signs to enforce racial
segregation in the South.

1962
Move to Atlanta
In 1962, the Abernathy family
moved from Montgomery to
Atlanta.
The next year we also moved to Atlanta.
Daddy had taken a new job there.
Mother and I didn’t want to move;
we wanted to stay in Montgomery.
Luckily, Yoki was in Atlanta.
Yoki’s garden was surrounded
by a high fence.
I felt safe there.

Choir
A choir is an organized group of
people who sing together, mostly
in church. They sing in different
voices. Women typically sing in
soprano (a high voice) and in alto
(a low voice).
Men usually sing tenor, which
is a high voice, or bass, a low
voice. The different voices sound
particularly beautiful together.
Daddy’s new church was very small.
I was disappointed.
“May I join the choir?” I asked him.
“There is no children’s choir here,” he replied.
I was even more disappointed.

But there was an adult choir.
Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Turner were soloists.
They sang a piece of music that my daddy was
particularly fond of. It was called Inflammatus.
Solo
Solo is Italian and means alone.
That means a musician plays a
particularly beautiful melody
alone. This musician is called a
soloist.
In many pieces of music for
orchestra there are solo parts
for instruments. Frequent solo
instruments are the violin, the
flute, the cello or the piano.
During the solo, the rest of the
orchestra usually stays quiet in
the background and supports the
soloist.
There are also solo parts for
singers. A distinction is made
between a solo for soprano, alto,
tenor and bass.
The opposite of solo is tutti. This
is Italian again and means all.
Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater Dolorosa is a
poem that is originated during the
Middle Ages in Europe. It is about
the grieving Mary, the mother
of Jesus Christ. According to the
Bible, Christ died on a cross. It is
not known who wrote this poem.
The poem was set to music
by various composers. The
Italian Gioachino Rossini
wrote his version of Stabat
Mater for choirs and soloists.
Rossini‘s composition consists
of ten movements. The eighth
movement is called Inflammatus
et Accensus and is an Aria for
Soprano. This means that the
soprano voice sings the solo.

Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson was born in 1911
in New Orleans, Louisiana. She
was a gospel singer.
Jackson first sang in a Baptist
church. In 1928, she moved to
Chicago and sang with the gospel
group Johnson Brothers. She
later recorded her first albums.
The song, Move on up a Little
Higher (1948), made her famous
worldwide. She has toured
around the world and appeared
in films.
Jackson sang at President John F.
Kennedy‘s inauguration in 1961.
She also performed at the famous
March on Washington in 1963,
and mournfully sang at Martin
Luther King Jr.‘s funeral in 1968.
Jackson died in 1972.
Sometimes Aunt Mahalia came to visit us.
I loved her.
Once she said to me: “Sing for me, my child!”
I sang. I sang every note I could.
“You’re going to be a classical singer,”
said Aunt Mahalia, smiling at me.
Juandalynn Abernathy says:
“Aunt Mahalia laid the
foundation for me.
I wanted to be a singer like her.
She was my role model.
She was fantastic.”

And then Aunt Mahalia sang in our church.
She sang in a completely different way.
She had a voice that touched my soul.
Her music went straight to my heart.
Gospel
The word gospel comes from the
English term good spell, which
means good news.
Gospel is an African-American
style of music with Christian
lyrics and originated in the US in
the 20th century. Predecessors of
gospel are the blues, jazz, ragtime
and African-American spirituals,
which also are Black musical
styles.
Jackson is one of the most famous
gospel singers ever. She is called
the Queen of Gospel.
Negro Spirituals
Negro spirituals are African-
American songs with Christian
lyrics. Negro spirituals were
created during slavery. The
enslaved people came from
different regions of Africa, spoke
different languages and therefore
often could not communicate
with each other. That’s why they
developed common songs. These
were often melancholy and sad,
reflecting on the condition of
slavery.
The enslaved people also would
sing Negro spirituals while
working in the fields. The rhythm
of the music matched the rhythm
of their hard work. The music
expressed their belief in God and
gave them hope for a better life
after death.
In some spirituals, codes were
hidden and gave others clues on
how to escape from slavery.

Washington D.C.
Washington, D.C. is the capital
city of the United States. The
letters D.C. mean District of
Columbia.
There is another place also called
Washington, a state. It is far
away from the capital, located in
the Pacific Northwest.
I still remember Washington well.
Very, very many people came to demonstrate for
their rights.
I especially remember Marian Anderson.
It was the first time I heard an opera singer.
She sang beautifully.
Marian Anderson
Marian Elina-Blanche Anderson
was an opera singer. She
was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in 1897. She was
considered one of the best opera
singers in her time.
In 1939, Anderson was supposed
to be in Washington D.C. to give a
concert. A group of white, racist
women canceled the concert
because of Anderson’s skin color.
As a result, Eleanor Roosevelt,
the wife of then U.S. President
Theodore Roosevelt, organized a
replacement concert. On Easter
Sunday, Anderson sang at the
Lincoln Memorial in front of
75,000 people.

Then Uncle Martin spoke.
“Martin, tell them about your dream,”
Aunt Mahalia called out to him.
And he did.
August 28, 1963
The March on Washington
The March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom was a political
demonstration against racism
and segregation.
It took place on August 28, 1963
at the Lincoln Memorial. The
demonstration was organized by
numerous American civil rights
groups and was supported by
President John F. Kennedy.
People from many different
racial backgrounds came from
all over the country. Around
250,000 people gathered in front
of the memorial by midday.
Numerous speakers spoke at
the closing rally, including John
Lewis, Asa Philipp Randolph,
Whitney M. Young, and Roy
Wilkins, who also led in the Civil
Rights Movement and beyond.
The celebrated opera singers
Camilla Williams, Marian
Anderson and the gospel singer
Mahalia Jackson provided the
music for the program. During
this momentous event, Martin
Luther King Jr. delivered his
famous I Have a Dream speech.
And at the end, famous folk
singers Joan Baez and Bob Dylan,
among others, sang the iconic
protest song, We Shall Overcome.
Martin Luther King Jr.
says:
“I have a dream
that one day on the red hills
of Georgia, the sons of former
slaves and the sons of former
slave owners will be able
to sit down together at the
table of brotherhood.
...
I have a dream
that my four little children
will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged
by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character.”

The Right to Vote
In democratic societies,
politicians are elected by the
people. The citizens have the
right to vote for their politicians.
For a long time there were no
fundamental rights to vote.
Southern states made it more
difficult for African Americans
and the poor to take part in the
elections. Black people had to
take a reading and writing test.
They had to read very difficult
texts. But even if they could read
it, they were often denied the
right to vote. They had to answer
a series of pointless and difficult
questions. But since the officials
who asked these questions were
white, the right to vote was often
denied even if the questions were
answered correctly.
The electoral districts were
intentionally drawn so that Black
people were in the minority,
meaning they were less than half
of a larger group of voters. That
is still the case today.
One day there was a beautiful robe
with a red bow on my bed.
“There’s a children’s choir now,”
Daddy said proudly. “If you want,
you can sing with them.”

The choir director’s name was Gloria Johnson.
She liked it when I sang.
She almost always let me sing the solo.
I would sing every day.
When I sang, I was happy.
Choir Direction
The choir director is a person
who leads a choir. The leader
selects pieces of music, teaches
them to the singers and conducts
the group. To be visible, the
director usually stands in front
of the singers.

Fun Town
Fun Town was an amusement
park in Atlanta. On weekends,
families went to this huge park
to ride the carousels and roller
coasters, to play mini golf, bowl,
and eat popcorn and cotton
candy. Yum!
Black people were not allowed to
visit Fun Town, which now no
longer exists.
Every Saturday morning Yoki and I were allowed
to watch cartoons on television. In between,
there were commercials promoting Fun Town.
Fun Town was an amusement park.
“We’re going there!” Yoki said enthusiastically.
“I’ll ask my dad.”
If Yoki wanted to achieve something,
then she did it. Always.

After a few days I asked Yoki:
“Yoki, when are we finally going to Fun Town?”
“My dad said we weren’t allowed,” Yoki said sadly.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because of our skin color,” Yoki whispered.
Martin Luther King Jr.
says:
“She was looking the television
and they were advertising Fun
Town. She ran down the stairs
and said: Daddy, you know I‘ve
been telling you I wanted to go
to Fun Town. (...) I want you to
take me to Fun Town.
I stood there speechless.
How could I explain to a little
6-year-old girl that she couldn’t
go to Fun Town because she was
colored?”

November 22, 1963
The Assassination of
John F. Kennedy
From 1961 to 1963, John F.
Kennedy served as the 35th
president of the United States.
He was very popular. He made a
famous speech telling the nation
that the country must guarantee
all Americans access to public
buildings, equal education and
the right to vote. President
Kennedy was assassinated in
Dallas, Texas in 1963.
I was the only brown-skinned child in my class.
The other children looked at me strangely
and didn’t talk to me.
A boy with blue eyes insulted me.
He insulted me every day. He insulted me
because I had brown skin.
I felt very lonely.
1964
The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act was one of
the most important pieces of
legislation for racial equality
in the United States. The law
prohibited discrimination
against people based on their
skin color, religion, gender or
origin. The Civil Rights Act ended
segregation and guaranteed
equal voting rights. The Civil
Rights Act was proposed by
President John F. Kennedy in
1963 and signed into law by his
successor Lyndon B. Johnson on
July 2, 1964.

I didn’t have any girlfriends in my class.
Susan was the only white girl who spoke to me.
I invited her to our house.
She was allowed to stay with me all weekend.
We went to the choir together.
We went to church together.
We went to the restaurant with my entire family.
It was a great weekend.
February 18, 1965
Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson was born in
Marion, Alabama in 1938. He was
a soldier and a woodworker.
In 1965, Jackson took part in a
demonstration organized by the
SCLC. Although it was a peaceful
demonstration, the participants
were stopped by the police. It
was already dark. Suddenly the
street lights were turned off and
the police brutally beat them
and some of the journalists.
Many were taken to the hospital.
Jackson, 26, fled to a cafe. Several
police officers followed him. One
of them shot Jackson twice in the
stomach. He died in the hospital
a few days later.
March 7, 1965
The First March from
Selma to Montgomery
About 600 people gathered in
Selma, a town in Alabama, to
march to Montgomery. They
protested peacefully for the right
to vote.
They did not get far, however. On
the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they
were brutally driven back by the
police with batons and tear gas.
Many people were injured. The
world witnessed in horror as
police officers beat the peaceful
protestors, while journalists
recorded and broadcasted the
brutality on national television
news. The day has since been
referred to as Bloody Sunday.
In many cities, people
demonstrated to show their
solidarity. President Lyndon B.
Johnson condemned the violence
against the protesters.
The marches in Selma were a
turning point in the Civil Rights
Movement, creating lots of public
outcry, including the immediate
passage of the Voting Rights Act of
1965.

Ralph David Abernathy
says:
„Violence is the weapon
of the weak.”
John Lewis
John Lewis was a politician, civil
rights activist and author. He was
born in Troy, Alabama in 1940.
As a student, Lewis organized
non-violent protests against
segregation. At a very young age,
he became an important figure in
the Civil Rights Movement and was
one of the key organizers for the
March on Washington.
Lewis would later lead the first
of three Selma marches in 1965,
which would become known as
Bloody Sunday. He was seriously
injured by police and suffered a
skull fracture. You can read
all about his inspiring life in a
trilogy of graphic novels or comic
books that he co-wrote. They are
called March.
From 1987 until his death in
2020, John Lewis served as a
representative in Congress.
On Monday, Susan stopped speaking to me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Susan insulted me because of the color of my skin
and spat on me. I chased after her and spat back.
When Daddy found out about this, he became angry.
I had to apologize to Susan.
She didn’t apologize.
I thought that was very unfair.
John Lewis says:
“On March 7th, 1965, when I
was hit in the head with a night
stick by a State Trooper at the
foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
I thought I was going to die. I
thought I saw death, but nothing
can make me question the
philosophy of nonviolence.”

The teacher didn’t like me either.
But she liked it when I sang to her.
So I sang.
I quickly noticed that white people didn’t care much
for me. But when I sang, they listened to me.
The National Anthem
A national anthem is a very
special song: a country‘s song.
Every country in the world has
one. Most people can sing along
to their country‘s national
anthem.
When Juandalynn R. Abernathy
went to school, the children had
to get up in the morning, put
their hands over their hearts and
sing the Star-Spangled Banner.
Juandalynn Abernathy says:
“When I sang,
I could win people over.
Music opened doors for me.”

March 9, 1965
The Second March from
Selma to Montgomery
Outraged by Bloody Sunday,
people came from all over the
country for the second march
from Selma to Montgomery.
About 2,500 people gathered.
Numerous armed police officers
lined up on the other side of the
Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Martin Luther King Jr. led
this march and stopped the
demonstration, calling for all to
pray. Down on his knees, Ralph
David Abernathy called on God
for safety and the strength to
change the hearts of hateful
people. Then they turned around
and went back.
When a person is discriminated against because of
the color of their skin, that’s called racism.
I often experienced racism.
I still remember exactly how it felt.
March 9, 1965
James Reeb
James Reeb was born in 1927 in
Wichita, Kansas. He was a pastor.
Reeb was white and a member of
the SCLC.
When he heard about Bloody
Sunday on television, he traveled
from far away to take part in
the second Selma to Montgomery
March.
On the evening of March 9,
Reeb was beaten by white
supremacists in the street. The
pastor suffered horrible head
injuries and died in the hospital
two days later.
Discrimination
Discrimination means to treat
people unfairly because of their
gender, skin color, class, religion
or national origin.

It was the first time I was in an ice rink.
“You’re not allowed in here!” the man at the entrance
growled and insulted me with the N-word.
He didn’t want to let me in as the only one.
The other children looked and laughed.
I was so ashamed.
A courageous mother, who was white, scolded the
man. After that I was allowed to skate.
But I didn’t enjoy ice skating after that.
Racism
Racism means that people are
treated unfairly and are judged
because of their skin color or
place of birth. Racist people
think they are worth more than
other people.
The N-Word
The hurtful word, nigger, was
used to insult a Black person.
But this word is reminiscent of
slavery and segregation and is
now a racist, discriminatory term
that Black people and people
of African descent consider an
insult. It is the same with the
term Colored or Negro. That’s
why these words shouldn’t be
used today.
If it is necessary to describe a
person based on skin color, there
are many words you can use:
Person of Color, African American
or Black. If they are Black and
come from Latin America, you
might consider using Afro Latinx.
Black does not mean the skin
color, but rather that they have
had and continue to experience
racism because of their skin
color.

Martin Luther King Jr.
says:
“The time is always right
to do what is right.“
March 21, 1965
The Third March from
Selma to Montgomery
On March 21, President B.
Lyndon Johnson sent federal
troops to protect 3,200
peaceful marchers who
finally were able to walk from
Selma to Montgomery. This
time no one stopped them. They
walked more than 12 miles a day
and slept in the open air.
My mother, my daddy and uncle Martin protested
against racism together with many others.
They fought for a country in which all people,
regardless of skin color, have equal rights.
Many of them were injured or died.
Despite this, they always protested peacefully.
We Shall Overcome
During the march people recited
many songs, notably We Shall
Overcome. This was a gospel that
dates back to 1901 and ever since
has become a protest song.

Sometimes I was allowed to be there.
I remember the day we drove to Selma with the
whole family.
It was wet and cold.
Arriving in Selma, we saw thousands of people.
There were white police officers along the street
who looked at us angrily. They insulted us.
They spat on the ground in front of us.
They scared me.
The Stars for Freedom
After the protestors successfully
arrived in Montgomery from
Selma, the crowds swelled to
around 25,000 people. That
evening there was a concert
organized by the singer, actor
and civil rights activist Harry
Belafonte. The Stars for Freedom
consisted of famous artists:
Joan Baez, James Baldwin, Tony
Bennett, Leonard Bernstein,
Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Dylan,
Judy Garland, Dick Gregory, Lena
Horne, Mahalia Jackson, Odetta,
Nina Simone, Peter, Paul and
Mary, Sidney Poitier and many
more.
Political involvement was not
common for stars at the time.
The artists risked their careers
with this performance.

March 25, 1965
The Arrival in Montgomery
The day after the Stars For
Freedom concert, 25,000
demonstrators concluded five
days of walking by reaching the
Alabama State Capitol building
on March 25.
Then we marched.
We marched from Selma to Montgomery.
We marched for five days.
There were a lot of us.
Mother and daddy. My siblings.
Uncle Martin and Aunt Coretta.

I remember the songs we sang together.
The music gave us strength.
Suddenly I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Nina Simone
Nina Simone was a singer,
pianist, songwriter and civil
rights activist. She was born
Eunice Kathleen Waymon in
Tryon, North Carolina in 1933.
Simone started playing the
piano at the age of four. After
her studies, she became a piano
teacher and performed in bars.
There she adopted her stage
name Nina Simone.
In 1959, she became famous with
her first album Little Girl Blue.
Simone became the voice of the
Civil Rights Movement, performing
at the Stars for Freedom concert.
In 1963, she wrote the song
Mississippi Goddam in protest of
the Birmingham church bombing
that killed four young Black girls
who went to Sunday school.
Simone died in France in 2003.
March 25, 1965
Viola Gregg Liuzzo
Viola Gregg Liuzzo was a civil
rights activist. She was born in
1925 in the city of California,
Pennsylvania.
In 1956, Liuzzo watched
television reports of Selma‘s
first march to Montgomery. She
decided to travel to Selma to help
prepare for the next march.
On the evening of March 25,
1965, she was driving young civil
rights activist Leroy Moton in her
car from Montgomery back to
Selma. While driving they were
stopped by a car with four whites
who belonged to a violent, racist
organization called the Ku Klux
Klan. The men shot them. Liuzzo,
39, died instantly. Moton was not
injured.
The killers got ten years in prison
for violating her civil rights, but
not for her murder.

Juandalynn R. Abernathy
says:
„I wanted to be like Leontyne
Price. She was my idol.“
Finally the day came when I was allowed
to sing the solo in our church.
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an
opera singer. She was born in
Laurel, Mississippi in 1927 and
has performed on the world‘s
biggest stages. She was the first
Black singer at the famous Teatro
alla Scala opera house in Milan.
She sang the coveted role of
Aida there. This made her world
famous.
Aida
Aida is a famous opera by the
Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.
The opera tells the story of Aida,
a Black princess from Ethiopia.
After a war, Aida is enslaved and
taken to Egypt. The Egyptian
military leader Radamès falls in
love with her. But he is supposed
to marry the daughter of the
Egyptian pharaoh.

It was the solo I had heard so many times from
Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Turner. It was the piece of
music that my father liked so much.
“Sing, Juandalynn, sing!” said my father.
“Sing from your heart!”
And I sang – from my heart.
August 6, 1965
The Voting Rights Act
of 1965
On August 6, 1965, President
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the
Voting Rights Act.
With this, voting became a
fundamental right for all citizens
of the United States.
Martin Luther King Jr. had
already called for this law in
December 1964. But President
Johnson claimed that such a
law could not be implemented
so soon after the Civil Rights
Act. However, after the Selma
to Montgomery protests, he
changed his mind.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is
considered to be one of the most
important laws that came out of
the Civil Rights Movement.
U.S. Vice President
.Kamala Harris says:
„One of the strengths of our
nation has been in our fight for
progress. A measure of progress
is the expansion of rights.
Not the restriction of rights.“

Ralph David Abernathy
says:
“You can kill the dreamer,
but you cannot kill the dream.”
The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was
a series of organized efforts
that fought the mistreatment
of Black people in the United
States between the 1950s and
60s. Because of the Montgomery
Bus Boycott in 1955, the struggle
for equal rights under U.S.
law gained momentum across
the country. It was a peaceful
movement and although one of
its most noted leaders
was Martin Luther
King Jr., these other
noted activists played
critical roles, as well:
I’ve been singing ever since.
I sing in different countries
and on different continents.
I sing on big and small stages.
I sing happy music.
I sing sad music.
I sing loud
and I sing softly.
Ralph D. Abernathy
Ella Baker
Stokely Carmichael
Angela Davis
James Farmer
Fanny Lou Hamer
Jesse Jackson
John Lewis
Dianne J. Nash
Huey P. Newton
Rosa Parks
Adam Clayton Powell
Asa Philip Randolph
Bayard Rustin
Fred L. Shuttlesworth
Glenn E. Smiley
Ida B. Wells
Walter Francis White
Roy Wilkins
Hosea Williams
Malcolm X
Andrew J. Young
Whitney Young Jr.

I sing for my father.
I sing for my mother.
I sing for Uncle Martin.
I sing for Yoki.
I sing for Aunt Mahalia.
For Jimmie Lee Jackson. For James Reeb.
For John Lewis. For Leontyne Price.
For Tamir Rice and George Floyd.
For Barack Obama and Kamala Harris.
I sing for you, my child.
So that you never have to experience
what we experienced.
Tamir Rice
In 2014, Tamir Rice was shot
and killed by a police officer in
Cleveland, Ohio. He was just
12 years old. Tamir had been
playing with his toy gun in a
park. The police officer was not
charged for killing him because
he said he thought the child was
waving a real gun.
Say Their Names!
Black people are still being
murdered to this day because of
the color of their skin.
Let us not forget their names:
Amadou Diallo
Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley Jones
Trayvon Martin
Rekia Boyd
Malissa Williams
Eric Garner
Michael Brown
Tamir Rice
John Crawford
Meagan Hockaday
Walter Lamar Scott
Sandra Bland
Corey Jones
Alton Sterling
Philando Castile
Charleena Lyles
Stephon Clark
Decynthia Clements
Botham Jean
Elijah McClain
Pamela Turner
Atatiana Jefferson
Ahmaud Arbery
Breonna Taylor
George Floyd
Rayshard Brooks
Daunte Wright
Jayland Walker
Tyre Nichols
and many, many more.

1980
Jean-Michel Basquiat
1967
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was born
in Bethesda, Maryland in 1908.
He was a civil rights lawyer
who became famous when in
1954 he successfully convinced
the Supreme Court to overturn
Plessy v. Ferguson. That law had
allowed states to have separate
public schools for Black and
White students. But with Brown
v. Board of Education, this practice
became illegal.
Later, President Lyndon B.
Johnson appointed Marshall to
the highest court in the land,
becoming the first African-
American justice to sit on the
U.S. Supreme Court. He served
from 1967 to 1991. Marshall died
in 1993.
October 16, 1968
Tommie Smith
Tommie Smith was a track and
field athlete. He was born in
Clarksville, Texas in 1944.
At the 1968 Olympic Games,
he won the gold medal in the
200 meter dash. At the awards
ceremony, Smith raised his
fist, which was a symbol of
the Black Power movement.
The Black Panthers worked to
fight discrimination and to
empower Black people. Olympic
officials made Smith leave the
international event.
1972
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm was born in
New York City in 1924. She was
a politician for the Democratic
Party. Chisholm was the first
Black person to serve in the US
House of Representatives. In
1972, she became the first Black
woman to run for president of
the United States.
Shirley Chisholm says:
“If they don’t give you a seat at
the table, bring a folding chair.“
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born
in New York City in 1960. He was
a painter and is considered one of
the most influential Black artists.
As a young man, Basquiat began
making art on the streets, known
as Graffiti. Later he painted mainly
on canvas and in notebooks. He
actually painted on everything
he could find. His work explored
racism, slavery, police brutality,
jazz music, to name a few.
The symbol of a crown can be
found in many of his paintings.
Basquiat crowned himself and
all the people he admired, such
as Boxer Muhammad Ali, jazz
greats Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie.
In just eight years, Basquiat
created over 2,000 drawings and
1,000 paintings. He died at the
very young age of 27.

1916
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick was born in
1987 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
As a famous quarterback for the
San Francisco 49ers, he started
protesting police brutality of
Black people during the National
Anthem by kneeling down or
taking the knee. His actions
caused him to lose his job.
Colin Kaepernick says:
“I am not going to stand up
to show pride in a flag for a
country that oppresses Black
people and people of color.“
2021
2009
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama was born
in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He became a lawyer and then
a politician for the Democratic
Party. Obama became the 44th
U.S. President in 2009, a historic
feat. He was the first Black
person to hold the highest office
in the land. Barack Obama was
re-elected in 2012 and served
two full terms. He campaigned
for environmental protection,
civil rights, stricter gun laws
and healthcare for everyone.
Obama also received the Nobel
Peace Prize, which is a very big
honor.
2020
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter is a movement
that originated in the USA. It
campaigns against violence
against Blacks and people of
color. It was founded in 2013 by
Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and
Opal Tometi in response to the
death of young Trayvon Martin.
Initially it was an online
campaign under the hashtag
#BlackLivesMatter. But in 2014,
after Michael Brown was shot
by a police officer at the age of
18, the movement organized a
peaceful demonstration in the
city of Ferguson, Missouri.
Since then, the movement has
organized more than 1,000
demonstrations.
In 2020, George Floyd was
recorded being choked to death
by a police officer in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. His murder sparked
worldwide protests with millions
of participants.
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris was born in
1964 in Oakland, California. She
is a lawyer and a politician.
Harris became the first female
vice president of the United
States in 2021. This is the second
most important political office
in the country. She is also the
first Black and Asian American to
hold this position.
Kamala Harris supports gay
rights, environmental protection,
women’s rights, migrant rights
and stricter gun laws.

Juandalynn, a girl from Montgomery, loves music.
She moves Wer kennt the people sie nicht, around die berühmte her with Geschichte her voice.
And vom mutigen what a voice Ritter, she der has! auszog,
um einen bösen Drachen zu töten.
In this book, Juandalynn R. Abernathy speaks as a contemporary witness
Wie wäre es, wenn wir diese Geschichte
about her life, heute as the einmal first etwas child anders of the erzählten? freedom movement.
She chronicles the work of her father, Ralph David Abernathy;
her godfather, Martin Luther King Jr., and their herculean efforts
to fight for dignity and equal rights in the United States.
#music #choir #sing
#civilrightsmovement #righttovote #racism
#ralphdavidabernathy #martinlutherkingjr
editions mālama
representation
ISBN 978-3-949326-03-5