Buses are a Comin by Charles Person

BUSES ARE A COMIN' by Charles Person with Richard Rooker is a memoir written by the youngest of the original Freedom Riders. Person joined future Congressman John Lewis and others in 1961 to test whether Southern cities would follow the Supreme Court ruling (Boynton v. Virginia) about desegregating bus depots, waiting areas, restaurants, and restrooms. Person was 18 at the time and, as the publishers point out, this text therefore provides a “challenge from a teenager of a previous era to the young people of today: Become agents of transformation.” Of course, our students study and analyze the events from this time (several groups read March, Books 1 and 2) and primary sources, like these newspaper articles and archival video, are so key. I do wish that BUSES ARE A COMIN' contained more images (there are a few on the endpapers) because that really helps students to envision the conflict and tension that was pervasive. In one example Person contrasts the 1961 Masters Tournament in Augusta (won by Gary Player from apartheid South Africa) and the rules against Black players participating (Lee Elder was the first to play in 1975) with the surprisingly uneventful service that he and other Black riders received from the Post House restaurant in Augusta, Georgia. Of course, there is much more about Dr. King ("the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice"), motives and backstories for the other riders, and the violence with which they were often met. The details about the many kindnesses, many acts of courage, and many dangers, including graphic beatings, are vividly described.  BUSES ARE A COMIN' received starred reviews from Kirkus (“a vital story”) and Publishers Weekly (“inspirational account”). A copy will be on our shelves along with related texts on the Civil Rights Movement.