“A very old woman stands at the bottom
of a very steep hill. It’s Voting Day, she’s an American, and by God, she’s
going to vote. Lillian is her name.” This is the opening paragraph of Jonah
Winter’s superb picture book Lillian's Right to Vote: A Celebration of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. Winter bases his story of Lillian’s walk to the
polls on a real person, Lillian Allen of Pittsburgh, granddaughter of a slave.
The “very steep hill” Lillian trudges up is metaphorical in this story: a
journey remembering the many obstacles to voting, over the years, and the acts
of courage that enabled all citizens, regardless of race or gender, to vote.
She can see her great-grandpa Edmund voting for the first time with the passage
of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870; yet Grandpa Isaac is turned away at the
polls in Alabama due to a poll tax he can’t afford; Uncle Levi is required to
answer ludicrous questions when he tries to register to vote; Lillian’s parents
are chased away from the polls by an angry mob, and a burning cross is placed
in their yard; even Lillian, years later when she first tries to register, is
asked to write down from memory a section of the U.S. Constitution. She also
sees Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis on the Selma to Montgomery marches,
and she hears President Lyndon Johnson declare, “Every American citizen must
have an equal right to vote…There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us
than the duty we have to ensure that right…” before signing into law the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. Shane W. Evans’s strong, handsome images convey the
poignancy and power of the story. An author’s note at the end reminds readers
that the right to vote still, even now, needs protection. Ages 5-9.
Related activities and interviews may be found at: TeachingBooks.net
Related activities and interviews may be found at: TeachingBooks.net
