  | Rollin' on down the line : Lady Bird Johnson's 1964 whistle-stop tour for civil rights Author: Kampion, Helen | |
| Price: $23.78 | ||
Summary:
The true story of First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson's historic 1964 Whistle Stop train journey, making almost fifty stops through eight Southern states in four days to campaign on behalf of her husband's reelection in the wake of the signing of the Civil Rights Act.
| Added Entry - Personal Name: | Lyons, Renee Critcher |
| Illustrator: | McGuire, Erin |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (10/01/24)
Booklist (07/01/24)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2024 It may be an overstatement that the four-day, 47-stop campaign Lady Bird Johnson undertook through the South just after the 1964 Civil Rights Act was signed into law “changed the role of the First Lady forever,” but it did show courage, because she faced not only hecklers as she addressed small-town gatherings but serious threats of violence, too. Only some stops get mentions within the main narrative, but all are listed at the end, along with additional facts about the trip and train. Johnson handled all the challenges gracefully while resolutely urging local audiences to focus on ties that bind rather than “tensions” that divide. And if there’s no way to know whether her “Southern accent” and manner soothed “hard feelings” or changed many minds about civil rights, three of the eight states she visited did, the afterword notes, unexpectedly vote for LBJ that fall. In McGuire’s illustrations, Johnson (with her period hair) poses forthrightly on the speaking platform of the “Lady Bird Special” before crowds of well-wishers and angry sign wavers. Though little known today, it’s a historical episode worth remembering. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.
