Who Was Rosa Parks?

Who Was Rosa Parks? by Yona Zeldis McDonough

I did not realize that Rosa Parks had a backstory of fighting for rights. There were other black people who failed to give up their seats for whites on Montgomery busses. However, they did not resonate with the general public the way Rosa Parks did. She was an educated, upstanding citizen. She had also worked behind the scenes for civil rights. The bus boycott and fame were challenging for her and her family. Eventually she moved to Detroit with other family members. 

This book is a quality, short introduction to her life and the background of the bus boycott and civil rights movement. It is somewhat sad that it was transportation that was attacked. In the name of improving civil rights we ended up hurting our transportation system. (Next step would be to bulldoze black neighborhoods for freeways.)

Who Was Blackbeard?

Who Was Blackbeard? by James Buckley Jr.

Blackbeard was an infamous pirate who was known for raiding the American coast during the colonial era. He was bold and extremely successful in his work. At one time, he even settled down in a town in a form of local amnesty. However, he ended up back at work and eventually met his fall as authorities raided him. We have an idea of his pre-Blackbeard identity, but are not 100% sure. The book provides background on the pirate as well as the situation in which he arose. Britain sponsored "privateers". These eventually freelanced on their own. Working on a British ship was very regimented, with little chance of reward. Pirate ships were more democratic with greater chances for leadership and material reward.