She Would Not Be Moved

How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

The prizewinning educator’s brilliant and timely meditation on the misleading ways in which we teach the story of Rosa Parks

She Would Not Be Moved gives teachers a richer, more accurate way to tell the story of Rosa Parks—not just emphasizing her personal bravery and political activism but also underscoring the role of the wider African-American community in an organized struggle for freedom.” —American School Board Journal

Published in hardcover in the fall of 2005 shortly before Rosa Parks died, She Would Not Be Moved is a timely and important exploration of how the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott has been distorted when taught in schools. Hailed by the New York Times Book Review when it was first published as having “the transcendent power that allows us to see . . . alternate ways of viewing our history and understanding what is going on in our classrooms,” this expanded version of Kohl’s original groundbreaking discussion “deftly catalogs problems with the prevailing presentations of Parks and offers [a] more historically accurate, politically pointed and age-appropriate alternative” (Chicago Tribune).

In addition to Marian Wright Edelman’s introduction, She Would Not Be Moved includes an original essay by Cynthia Brown on civil rights activists Septima Clark, Virginia Durr, and Rosa Parks; a teachers’ resource guide to educational materials about Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement; and an appendix explaining how to evaluate textbooks for young people about this critical period in U.S. history.

Praise

“Everything you know about Rosa Parks is wrong—unless you’ve been studying with education reform activist Kohl.”
Kirkus Reviews

Books by Herbert Kohl

The Herb Kohl Reader
Awakening the Heart of Teaching

Herbert Kohl

Stupidity and Tears
Teaching and Learning in Troubled Times

Herbert Kohl

The Muses Go to School
Inspiring Stories About the Importance of Arts in Education

Herbert Kohl, Tom Oppenheim

Should We Burn Babar?
Essays on Children’s Literature and the Power of Stories

Herbert Kohl

Goodreads Reviews