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Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter, by Veronica Chambers

This non-fiction book puts the recent events of history concerning the Black Lives Matter movement in the larger context by showing it as a continuing part of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The author approaches the subject from many angles. She shows how #BlackLivesMatter took off & became a huge rallying cry reaching its peak in June of 2020. She shares the stories of many lives cut short by police violence, but also tells us about the people who fought back by marching, speaking out, and getting involved at the local level. The story looks at social media and its influence on the current movement – as well as how it was different during the Civil Rights movement. There is a section with the art and music that came out of the protests. It looks at politics and the small things people have done and can do to continue moving forward to a more just society. Even having lived through the recent events, I found it helpful to have it all condensed and shared in such a comprehensive way. I liked the comparisons and contrasts to the earlier movement for social justice. It is definitely approachable for middle and high school students with a nice balance of images, captions, and text. The timeline section was a clear way to review historic and recent events. The book also includes suggestions for further reading, a bibliography, and an index. This would be an excellent addition to secondary libraries.