Download Betty Before X Ilyasah Shabazz Renée Watson 9781250294180 Books
Download Betty Before X Ilyasah Shabazz Renée Watson 9781250294180 Books
Download As PDF : Betty Before X Ilyasah Shabazz Renée Watson 9781250294180 Books
Betty Before X is a powerful middle-grade fictionalized account of the childhood activism of Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X’s wife, written by their daughter Ilyasah Shabazz.
In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty’s house doesn’t quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can’t shake the feeling that her mother doesn’t want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. The singing, the preaching, the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, an organization that supports black-owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born.
Inspired by Betty's real life―but expanded upon and fictionalized through collaboration with novelist Renée Watson―Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother’s childhood with this book, painting an inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self-acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today.
Backmatter included.
"[T]his moving fictional account of the early life of the late civil rights leader and widow of Malcolm X draws on the recollections of family and friends. The result is a heart-rending imagining of Shabazz's personal challenges as well as a rare, intimate look at the complex roots of the American civil rights movement. A personal, political and powerful imagining of the early life of the late activist." ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Absorbing . . . History comes alive in this illuminating portrayal of the early life of this civil rights activist." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review
"An excellent work of historical fiction that will illuminate and spark discussion." ―School Library Journal, starred review
Download Betty Before X Ilyasah Shabazz Renée Watson 9781250294180 Books
"Summary
Betty Dean, age eleven, moves up north to Detroit in the early 1940s to live with her mother after her Aunt Fannie Mae dies. Betty’s mother, whom she calls Ollie Mae, had Betty as a teenager and their relationship is distant. Betty isn’t quite old enough to understand why her mother tells her that she is ungrateful, ornery, and like her daddy, bad to the core.
Fellow churchgoers Mr. and Mrs. Malloy take Betty in. Mrs. Malloy is a leader in the Housewives League, and organization that boycotts businesses that don’t hire black employees or treat customers fairly. The goal is to, as Betty and Mrs. Malloy say, “Hurt them in their pocket.â€
Appeal
I liked the time and place of this story, in part because it sets (at least in my somewhat naive American history mind) the beginnings of the civil rights movement and the forms of nonviolent protest to a different time and place. Not to say that the Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott story isn’t important, but rather to acknowledge that others did this work, too. At one point in the story, Betty thanks Mrs. Peck, founder of the Housewives League for her leadership as “an example to all of us girls, and even the boys.†Fannie Peck is the godmother of current day movements like #grabyourwallet.
I also appreciate the brief conversations and complications of what I learned in school about race relations. For example, I always assumed that integration was universally desired by black Americans, and it wasn’t until I read Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns that I realized that wasn’t true. Mr. Malloy questions the outcomes of school integration in a conversation Betty overhears: “I’m not sure what desgegrated schools are going to do for the Negro man. Let’s think about this -- what will happen to Negro teachers? What will happen to our children who will be sitting next to white children for the first time with no one preparing them? Why isn’t anyone talking about white children integrating into Negro schools? It’s imposing the nothing that we are inferior, and by having our children travel across town, it’s imposing the nation that white schools are superior.â€
Period details also make this piece stand out: references to Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstein, Paul Robeson, the Rose-Meta House of Beauty, Nadinola Bleaching Cream.
Issues with comprehension
The title. Most of my students don’t know who Malcolm X is, and I think some of them will take the title literally. (As in, they might expect the letter X to play a role in the story.) Yes, it’s explained in the inside cover, but will my students look there? I am not sure. I might need to contextualize author Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X, and Betty Shabazz in my book talk.
Recommended for
A lovely coming of age story that blends some family and friendship themes with a social protest backdrop. There are some heavy topics woven in here (lynchings, police violence, and riots) but those topics are protected through the lens of cautious adults and somewhat naive children."
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Betty Before X Ilyasah Shabazz Renée Watson 9781250294180 Books Reviews :
Betty Before X Ilyasah Shabazz Renée Watson 9781250294180 Books Reviews
- In the book’s dedication, Ilyasah Shabazz writes, “A society is measured by the progress of its women. My father said, ‘When you educate a boy, you teach a community; when you educate a girl, you raise a nation.’ I dedicate this book to his beloved wife, my mother, Dr. Betty Shabazz, whose belief in the potential of every single girl inspired me to share her story with you.†// Betty was taken from her teenage mother when she was little and raised by her Aunt Fannie Mae. When Betty was seven, Fannie Mae died, and Betty was sent back to live with her mother—and her three younger half-sisters, a stepfather, and two stepbrothers. She and her mother clash at every turn, and Betty eventually goes to live with an older childless couple from church. // Much of the book is about Betty and one of her friends joining the Housewives’ League as a junior member. One of the league’s goals is to get black people in the community to boycott any business that doesn’t hire black employees. They face racial discrimination, threats, and Betty loses one of her best friends whose mother doesn’t approve of the league’s bold fight against racism. // “They wait until I close the door and they think I can’t hear them. But I know how they talk and pray and sometimes cry about the way some white folks mistreat us. How even though this is the North and it’s not supposed to be like the South, it still has its hate, its prejudice, its inequality.†(103) // “Mrs. Peck takes the time to teach us girls so we can make sure everybody understands that Negroes are human beings, too. And as human beings we have feelings and we have power.†(150) // From the Author’s Note “Her character is often commended by people who wonder how she was able to live under such fearful and challenging times as those of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement. I believe it was my mother’s childhood that prepared her to become Malcolm X’s wife, a mother of six daughters, and educator, and an advocate for girls and women. Her willingness to forgive, her passion for family, her love of sisterhood, and her dedication to standing up against injustice were cultivated in her early years.†(220)
- This book is awesome! I read it with my students, and they loved getting to know Betty through the eyes of her daughter.
- Great story - my daughter doesn't like to read but can't wait to get home from school and keep the story going. She says it's moving....
- Cute book
- I received a copy of this book through the goodreads giveaway program.
As a former educator I can highly recommend this book. I noticed on the back cover that it is intended for ages 10-14. I would encourage and/or parental support in dealing with some of the tough topics included.
The writing itself is extremely well done for the age group and the reflections 'Betty' expresses are very honest and insightful. You can feel her pain as she describes her interactions with her mother and the loss of her friendship with Phyllis.
I haven't verified any of the historical aspects of the book; the speaking engagements by Billy Eckstine and Thurgood Marshall, the murder of Leon Mosley and the riots in Detroit. I trust the author has authenticated each of these.
The addendum at the back of the book are especially well written for middle schoolers and give them a place to start, or continue, their own study of this time in history. - Summary
Betty Dean, age eleven, moves up north to Detroit in the early 1940s to live with her mother after her Aunt Fannie Mae dies. Betty’s mother, whom she calls Ollie Mae, had Betty as a teenager and their relationship is distant. Betty isn’t quite old enough to understand why her mother tells her that she is ungrateful, ornery, and like her daddy, bad to the core.
Fellow churchgoers Mr. and Mrs. Malloy take Betty in. Mrs. Malloy is a leader in the Housewives League, and organization that boycotts businesses that don’t hire black employees or treat customers fairly. The goal is to, as Betty and Mrs. Malloy say, “Hurt them in their pocket.â€
Appeal
I liked the time and place of this story, in part because it sets (at least in my somewhat naive American history mind) the beginnings of the civil rights movement and the forms of nonviolent protest to a different time and place. Not to say that the Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott story isn’t important, but rather to acknowledge that others did this work, too. At one point in the story, Betty thanks Mrs. Peck, founder of the Housewives League for her leadership as “an example to all of us girls, and even the boys.†Fannie Peck is the godmother of current day movements like #grabyourwallet.
I also appreciate the brief conversations and complications of what I learned in school about race relations. For example, I always assumed that integration was universally desired by black Americans, and it wasn’t until I read Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns that I realized that wasn’t true. Mr. Malloy questions the outcomes of school integration in a conversation Betty overhears “I’m not sure what desgegrated schools are going to do for the Negro man. Let’s think about this -- what will happen to Negro teachers? What will happen to our children who will be sitting next to white children for the first time with no one preparing them? Why isn’t anyone talking about white children integrating into Negro schools? It’s imposing the nothing that we are inferior, and by having our children travel across town, it’s imposing the nation that white schools are superior.â€
Period details also make this piece stand out references to Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstein, Paul Robeson, the Rose-Meta House of Beauty, Nadinola Bleaching Cream.
Issues with comprehension
The title. Most of my students don’t know who Malcolm X is, and I think some of them will take the title literally. (As in, they might expect the letter X to play a role in the story.) Yes, it’s explained in the inside cover, but will my students look there? I am not sure. I might need to contextualize author Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X, and Betty Shabazz in my book talk.
Recommended for
A lovely coming of age story that blends some family and friendship themes with a social protest backdrop. There are some heavy topics woven in here (lynchings, police violence, and riots) but those topics are protected through the lens of cautious adults and somewhat naive children.
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