Lynda Blackmon Lowery

age 10+ Vivid recollections of a teen girl in the Selma march. Parents need to know that Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom is the memoir of Lynda Blackmon Lowery, who as a young girl participated in the voting rights march of 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

It’s easy to associate read-aloud time with small children sitting criss-cross applesauce on a brightly colored rug with a friendly librarian sharing a picture book with rapt audiences, but it’s far past time we start recognizing that all ages benefit from classroom read alouds. Teenagers especially love to hear books read out loud to them. Here’s a list of perfect high school read alouds to get you started.

Selma, Alabama was at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. It was here in 1965 that Black protesters were chased and beaten during a march that would become known as Bloody Sunday. And today, that fight for Black liberation continues in Selma with Quentin Bell, the executive director of the Knights and Orchids Society, a nonprofit group that supports Black queer people who are facing housing insecurity, healthcare needs, and discrimination.