Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 12/01/2014 Gr 1–5—This debut picture book by husband and wife team Alko and Qualls gives the story of Mildred and Richard Loving its due. The couple first met and fell in love in Jim Crow Cedar Point, VA, in 1958, but because Richard was white and Mildred was African American and Cherokee, they were not permitted to marry under Virginia law. The pair did contract nuptials in Washington, DC and eventually had several children, but they weren't content to leave the discriminatory law uncontested. In legal proceedings that led to a Supreme Court case, their union was finally upheld as constitutional. The charming and cheerful mixed media illustrations are done in gouache and acrylic paint with collage and colored pencil, a perfect marriage of Alko and Qualls's art styles. While the text is uninspired in moments, it shines with a message that is universal: "They won the right to their love. They were free at last." Back matter includes an author and artist's note explaining the importance of this topic. A much-needed work on a historical court case that made the ultimate difference on mixed race families that will resonate with contemporary civil rights battles. Put it on the shelves next to Duncan Tonatiuh's Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation (Abrams, 2014) and Joyce Carol Thomas's Linda Brown, You Are Not Alone: The Brown v. Board of Education Decision (Hyperion, 2003).—Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 12/01/2014 *Starred Review* Many children’s books tackle landmark events in U.S. history, but this one is an especially needed addition. The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the interracial couple whose fight for the right to be married led to the Supreme Court’s ruling that ended anti-miscegenation laws, is relayed here as a love story that does not sugarcoat the virulent racism of the time. After traveling just beyond their Virginia home to wed in nearby D.C., the couple’s return was greeted by a home raid, arrest, and a declaration that their love was “unlawful.” After a long court struggle, however, the Lovings were “free at last” to live “happily (and legally) ever after.” Familiar expressions such as these are cleverly inserted through the narrative, drawing attention to everyday language that was not so ordinary for the Lovings. Gentle painted background scenes are overlaid with bright collages of flowers, birds, and hearts, lending a playfulness to the otherwise sober story. An author’s note grounds the Lovings’ story in the present as Alko recognizes that her own interracial marriage is part of the trajectory of change, which continues today in the LGBTQ community’s fight for equality. Inspirational, never heavy-handed, and appropriate for just about everyone. - Copyright 2014 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 03/01/2015 Ranking high among the anxieties of American segregationists was “mixing of the races” and a concomitant dilution of white racial “purity.” It’s therefore not difficult to understand why a small town in 1958 Virginia was not about to tolerate the marriage of black Mildred Jeter and white Richard Loving, even if it was legalized in permissive Washington, D.C.: “In the middle of the night, they were awoken from their sleep. It was the police! An officer shouted at Richard, ‘What are you doing with that woman?’” The Lovings resettled and began their family in D.C., but they challenged Virginia’s law and won their case before a unanimous Supreme Court in 1967 (“The times they were a-changin’”). Alko so skillfully pitches her text at an elementary-grade audience that the need to explain “unlawful cohabitation” in detail will probably not arise; children will be focused instead on the sadness, patience, and determination of a devoted couple who just want to live in their own hometown. Alko shares illustration duty with her husband, Qualls, blending styles in pencil, paint, and collage scenes. A clear depiction of place conveys the protagonists’ circumstances, and a hearts-and-flowers motif speaks to their aspirations. This touching selection should be as satisfying a love story as it is a civil rights tale. EB - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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