La Porte County Public Library System

Everyone was rather surprised when small-town farmer Jimmy Carter first announced that he'd be running for president in 1976. When Jimmy told his mother, she replied, "President of what?" But this former naval officer and governor of Georgia was ready for the role. Jimmy Carter went on to become one of America's most beloved political figures thanks to his honesty, strong faith, and compassion.

Moving, relatable, and totally true childhood biographies of Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, and 12 other inspiring activists.
 
Every activist started out as a kid—and in some cases they were kids when their activism began! But even the world’s greatest champions of civil liberties had relatable interests and problems—often in the middle of extraordinary circumstances.
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Voting gives people a voice in their communities. In the past, racist laws and practices kept Black American voices silent. No place was more affected by this racism than the state of Mississippi. In 1964, organizers and volunteers brought change to Mississippi. This movement to register Black voters became known as Freedom Summer, and it led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Discover the people, events, and results of Freedom Summer...

Mississippi. 1966. On a hot June afternoon, an African-American man named James Meredith set out to walk through his home state, intending to fight racism and fear with his feet. A seemingly simple plan, but one teeming with risk. Just one day later Meredith was shot and wounded in a roadside ambush. Within twenty-four hours, Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and other civil rights leaders had taken up Meredith's cause, determined to overcome...