mississippis-people-as-a-whole

I’d like to act as a clearinghouse for schools/educators who have taught/would like to teach The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch.

There’s already an educator’s guide that was made before the April 2015 publication date. Lots has happened since.

If you or someone else at your elementary, middle, or high school has taught and discussed the book with students, what has worked well? What other materials (books, videos, current news) were incorporated? What questions did students have? What would have been helpful?

A summary of the book, for those not familiar with it:

“From enslaved teenager to U.S. congressman in ten years…

“John Roy Lynch spent most of his childhood as a slave, but the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War promised African Americans in the South the freedom to work and learn as they saw fit. While many people there were unhappy with the changes, John Roy thrived in the new era. He was appointed to serve as Justice of the Peace and at age 25 was elected into the United States Congress, where he worked to ensure that the people he represented were truly free.

“This biography, accompanied by Don Tate’s splendid illustrations, gives readers an in-depth look at the Reconstruction period through the life of one of the first African American congressmen.”

Librarians and teachers, please share with me what you’ve got, and I’ll figure out a way to share that with those who could use it.

Thanks, y’all. The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch is a story about an era in which great progress was made and then undone. I think it’s very relevant. I want kids to know it.