Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom
As the youngest marcher in the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Lynda Blackmon Lowery proved that young adults can be heroes. Jailed eleven times before her fifteenth birthday, Lowery fought alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. for the rights of African Americans. In this memoir, she shows today’s young readers what it means to fight nonviolently (even when the police use violence, as during the Bloody Sunday protest) and how it felt to be part of changing American history.
Straightforward and inspiring, this beautifully illustrated memoir brings readers into the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, complementing Common Core classroom learning and bringing history alive for young readers.
Keywords/Themes
Civil Rights Movement, nonviolent protest, voting rights, racism and segregation, hope, human rights, courage, justice, equality
Book Review & Recommended Use in Classroom
A great read for teaching about the Civil Rights Movement. The female protagonist, who narrates the story from a first-person perspective, serves as a strong-willed heroine with whom students can identify. The book contains realistic depictions of historical violence and oppression during the Civil Rights Movement, yet it also highlights solidarity and hope. The story is visually enriched with photographs and expressive illustrations, the variety of which makes for a very engaging reading experience. At the end of the book, additional background information on voting rights is provided, along with short accounts of four other activists who died around the time of Bloody Sunday.
This is own-voice literature, written by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, an Alabama native who has been dedicated to civil rights since childhood. The book is available as a hardcover and now also in paperback. Its reading level and length make it suitable for Year 9 and above. Interviews and speeches with Lynda Blackmon Lowery, available on YouTube, can be incorporated into lessons.
(Neele, November 2025)
Sensitive Content
Violence/police brutality, racism
About the Author
Born in 1950 in Selma, Alabama, Lynda Blackmon Lowery was the eldest of four siblings. Her mother died when Lynda was seven — a “white-only” hospital refused to admit her, and by the time “colored” blood arrived from a hospital 96 miles away, it was already too late. Raised by her father and grandmother, she was taught early to value herself: her grandmother told her, “there is nothing more precious walking on this earth than you are.” When she heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak in 1963, a spark ignited — by the age of 15 she became the youngest person to complete the full 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights. This tragic loss and formative upbringing deeply shaped her lifelong commitment to justice and activism.
Source: https://alabamaliving.coop/articles/alabama-bookshelf-feb-2015
