The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis probably earned its Newbery Medal not just because of the book itself, but the historical background of the book. This African American literature uses the Civil Rights Movement as a backstory, where people fought back against racism to earn human rights for African Americans. The story itself talks about a family of African Americans consisting of parents and three children, two boys and one girl. The younger of the boys, Kenny, is the main character of the story. We mainly read about snapshots of this family’s life, such as Kenny going to school, or making friends, or simply at home. As the book progresses, we see a shift to focus on Byron’s actions instead, although Kenny is still the main character and things are seen from his point of view. Byron is the older son of the Watsons and causes a lot of trouble, such as purchasing items without parental permission with parents’ money, lighting matches inside the house, and getting a conk hairstyle without permission. His parents eventually become so frustrated with his actions that they decide to send him to Alabama, Birmingham to live with his grandmother. However, they are met with extreme racial injustice in Birmingham, and the church where the Watson’s daughter Joetta went to was even bombed, though Joetta wasn’t harmed. This led them to reconsider sending Byron to such a place and the whole family immediately leaving. This book blends a good shade of humor and realistic storyline with the harsh environment of the Civil Rights Movement, where white people despised African Americans. Along with this history there also comes numerous themes related to it.
As with any African American literature, racism is perhaps the biggest theme to hold the story together. Racism is crucial to the backstory in African American literature, and is probably the reason why this book was awarded the Newbery Medal. White people used to think African Americans were inferior and even non-human, thus justifying their ability to shun or enslave African Americans. At the time of the book, racism was being fought with the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans protesting the unfairness of racism and segregation. People fought by holding protests and boycotting. It was then that many died trying to set things right, and many famous African American leaders came into play, such as Dr Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. In the end, this battle was won and now conscious racism against African Americans was at least gone for the majority. This book takes place during the Civil Rights Movement. It depicts how times were hard for African Americans, and the hate white people had against them. In the story, white men bombed Joetta’s church because they disliked African Americans and the protests they held. This backstory is very important to not only this book, but to all African American literature as well. It is mainly because of this genre that the cruelty and unfairness of racism has been passed down, highlighting the darkest part of American history and how we shouldn’t repeat it. It also doesn’t come as a coincidence that this book’s setting is exactly 1963, one year before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was held, a year before segregation was officially banned. Racism is unfair and wrong, and African American literature reminds us of that and helps us prevent this kind of racial discrimination from happening again.
The connection of family is emphasized a lot in this book and how the family helps each other. A family always helps each other in times of need. Sometimes it's just expressing some love, or sticking together. Sometimes one has to mentally or physically support another one of our family members, or encourage them when they are feeling upset or disappointed. These actions don’t need to be performed by a parent to his/her children, but siblings can also help support each other and sometimes even parents. This way, a family will be happier, more united, and more efficient in doing things. Expressing love for others can help everyone feel more included and strengthen the bond between the family. In the story, there are several examples of how siblings have helped each other. Byron defends Kenny from getting overly bullied in school. Kenny helps Joetta take off her coats in school and inadvertently helps her survive the church bombing and return home. Joetta, although she is the youngest of the three, tries her best to defend Byron against his parents who sometimes want to issue severe punishments on him. Byron helped support Kenny mentally when he was sad at the end of the book, and of course, the parents take care of the children. Everyone in the family is able to help each other to overcome difficulties and problems, making everyone happier and feel more loved. The family encourages and supports each other and sticks together, and although there are a few conflicts along the road, everyone is ultimately still a family, and everyone still expresses love. By encouraging and supporting each other through challenges and issues, the Watson family is able to stick together and be happy together.
Friendship is also an important aspect in the story, not just between family, but between friends. They can be comforting when one is upset, or they can help one overcome challenges. A friend can bring happiness and joy just as well as family members can, and they are extremely important in our lives, second only to our parents. Sometimes, there are conflicts between friends, quarrels and arguments. The important thing is to resolve the conflict and keep the friendship going. A friend can carry one a long way, no matter if it is in childhood or adulthood. In times where racism was present, it was even harder for African Americans to have friends other than other African Americans, and the concept of friendship became increasingly important in such hard times. In the story, Kenny had a friend named Rufus. Rufus was new to the school and immediately got teased and laughed at by others. However, Rufus was able to find Kenny, who shared his feelings of being laughed at and they became close friends. They played together, helped each other, and most of all, kept each other from being lonely and getting laughed at by the other kids. During the story, a conflict arose between Kenny and Rufus, but after Kenny decided to apologize and change, they became friends again. In this story, friends helped each other feel less lonely in an environment where they both felt left out. They each brought a considerable amount of joy to each other’s lives and made each other feel better. Even though conflicts happened, the friends learned to apologize and change their ways so as to not have such a conflict again. Being friends gave them both happiness and the feeling of inclusion. Friends can help you in times of need and make you feel better and be happier, and sometimes that is just what we need in life.
In conclusion, The Watsons Go to Birmingham is an amazing piece of African American literature. The story is of an African American family and events in their life, yet even more important than how they lived was when they lived, during the Civil Rights Movement. At that time, white people thought that African Americans were inferior to them and shouldn’t even be viewed as human. This caused extreme racial injustice and racism in America. African Americans knew this was wrong and decided to change that, initializing the Civil Rights Movement as protesting against racism and segregation. The story takes place during this movement, when conflicts between white and African American became more intense, with some white people actually bombing African American churches, as seen in the story. The book accurately describes the hard times African Americans had during that era, and how they were trying to fight back. It reminds us of this unfair and dark time, and how it should be prevented from happening again. The theme of family is obviously present, showing how a family sticking together and supporting each other can strengthen bonds and make the whole family happier and more united, as well as being able to take care of numerous problems. Friendship between friends is also represented by Kenny and Rufus. Having friends in one’s life can bring extra joy and feeling of inclusion, and they are only second in importance to family. A good friend can just as easily comfort one, share one’s feelings, and help during hardships and challenges. Ultimately, this book does not only deserve the Newbery Medal because of its plot and language, but also because of its themes and important historical background. It is truly a masterpiece in African American Literature, and I highly recommend it.
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