Let Them Play

XX min read

Author(s)	Margot Theis Raven
Illustrator(s)	Chris Ellison
Age Group	7-10
Publisher	Sleeping Bear Press
ISBN	978-1585362608
Year	2005

In 1955 the all-black Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars team was formed in Charleston, South Carolina in the hopes of playing in the state’s annual Tournament, but all of the white teams pull out of the official Little League program rather than play against All-Stars. This boycott gives the team a legitimate spot in the Little League Baseball World Series held in Pennsylvania, but while the team is invited to attend as guests, they are not allowed to participate since they have not officially “played” and won their state’s tournament. The title of this true story takes its name from the chant shouted by the spectators who attended the World Series final.

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