ABSTRACT

This chapter looks at two recently published risky historical texts-civil rights narratives that invite compassion and caring through the use of testimony from people directly involved in the movement. It starts that the civil rights movement not only really happened but that it continues to affect the lives of Americans living today. Literature that openly deals with painful and complex social issues is considered "risky historical text". Twice Toward Justice and Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary both present children with opportunities to engage with risky historical text. Testimonial accounts of difficult and painful social events-those of a single individual like Claudette Colvin or groups of individuals like the Selma-to-Montgomery marchers-place readers in a unique situation of bearing witness, responding with empathy, and perhaps passing what was told to them on to others. The immediacy of testimony evokes an emotional response of caring and concern, while the events described raise enduring questions.