As Fast As Words Could Fly

XX min read

Author(s)	Pamela M. Tuck
Illustrator(s)	Eric Velazquez
Age Group	7-12
Publisher	Lee & Low Books
ISBN	978-1600603488
Year	2013

Mason Steele takes pride in turning his father's excited ramblings about the latest civil rights incidents into handwritten business letters. One day Pa comes home with a gift from his civil rights group, a typewriter and Mason teaches himself to type. When the civil rights group wins a school desegregation case, Mason learns that now he will be attending a formerly all-white high school. Despite his fears and injustice from the students and faculty, Mason perseveres. He does well in school—especially in his typing class. And when he competes in the county typing tournament, Mason decides to take a stand using his skills to triumph over prejudice and break racial barriers.

Monthly Featured Book

Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington

By Michael G. Long

Bayard Rustin was a "troublemaker." He spent his life disrupting racism and prejudice with nonviolent direct action. He organized protests against war, nuclear weapons, racial segregation and discrimination. He was a friend and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., and he was unapologetically gay and Black. When Bayard and his mentor, A. Philip Randolph, set out to organize the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Bayard was targeted by those who wished to see the movement fail. But Bayard Rustin would not be stopped. With the support of Dr. King and future congressman John Lewis, Bayard organized the largest protest in civil rights history.

Learn more