School of Information Sciences

CCB to mark the 60th anniversary of the Birmingham church bombing with new website, programs

Sara Schwebel
Sara L. Schwebel, Professor and Director of the Center for Children's Books

On September 15, 1963, four little girls had their lives cut short in a bomb blast at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This tragic event, which drew international attention to the civil rights movement in the U.S., is a pivotal moment in The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, the Newbery Honor-winning book by children's author Christopher Paul Curtis. Next week, several organizations, including the iSchool's Center for Children's Books (CCB), are partnering on events for young people in Birmingham to mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing.

Together with the National Park Service (NPS), the CCB has launched a new Books to Parks website on The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. According to CCB Director Sara L. Schwebel, the Books to Parks initiative links award-winning, widely taught works of youth literature to lands and historic sites protected by the federal government. Schwebel developed the content for the website with CCB research assistants (and recent MSLIS graduates) Joshua Altshuler and Mia Walter in partnership with colleagues at the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The site includes a reading guide for each chapter of the book with archival images and fact check sections that connect the story to history and introduce primary sources for students to use in answering questions about the book.

"Students browsing through the resources learn to interrogate their perceptions of peoples and places, in particular outlooks of the South. Birmingham reflects a distinct and relevant historical landscape in terms of the civil rights movement in 1963. But users of the site also discover Birmingham's similarities to Flint, Michigan, as a city shaped by race relations, community, and culture," said Altshuler, who is now a visiting reference and instruction librarian at Lawrence University.

Watsons Go to Birmingham event flyer

The CCB is collaborating with the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church, NPS, and other organizations on an event to be held on September 14 for 4th-8th grade students, centered on The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. Christopher Paul Curtis will address students from the sanctuary of 16th Street Baptist Church at the start of the day, which will include hands-on, curriculum-based activities, such as listening to music of the 1960s, playing games like jacks and hopscotch, reading poetry by Langston Hughes, and mapping out the route that the Watsons took from Flint to Birmingham.

"We are thrilled to join with many partners in Birmingham to bring Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, and young people together during the city’s 2023 Forging Justice Commemoration Week," said Schwebel. "As the Books to Parks website launches, we look forward to supporting local partners in their plans for an annual event linked to Christopher Paul Curtis' novel. Also in the works: a bus trip from Michigan to Alabama that enables a group of Flint schoolchildren to trace the Watson family's road trip South."

The CCB will hold a watch party on Thursday, September 14, at 9:00 a.m. in the 4th floor multipurpose room of 614 E. Daniel Street. 

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Brya appointed assistant dean for communications and marketing

Cindy Brya has been appointed assistant dean for communications and marketing. In her new role, she will lead the iSchool’s Communications and Marketing team, provide counsel to the dean, and shape the overall communications strategy.

Cindy Brya

iSchool researchers to present at ASSETS 2025

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the 27th International Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group (SIG) ACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025), which will be held in Denver, Colorado, October 26–29, 2025. This conference allows researchers to present their scholarship on design, evaluation, use, and education related to computing for people with disabilities and older adults.

Chan to give an invited talk on "Predatory Data"

Professor Anita Say Chan will give an invited lecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB) on October 23. The talk, part of the "Confronted with America" series hosted by the Center for American Studies and Research, will be moderated by Jihad Touma, founding director of AUB's School of Computing and Data Sciences.

Anita Say Chan

iSchool researchers present at ILA 2025

School faculty, staff, and students will present their research at the 2025 Illinois Library Association (ILA) Annual Conference, which will be held on October 14–16 in Rosemont. The theme of this year's conference is "You Belong Here."

Craig named Illinois Library Luminary

Anne Craig, iSchool adjunct lecturer and senior director of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), has been inducted as an Illinois Library Luminary. The Illinois Library Luminary program, an initiative of the Illinois Library Association (ILA), recognizes those who have made a significant contribution to Illinois libraries.

Anne Craig

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Fax: (217) 244-3302

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top