Lizzie Demands a Seat!, Beth Anderson
Lizzie Demands a Seat!, Beth Anderson
List: $7.99 | Sale: $5.60
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Lizzie Demands a Seat!
Elizabeth Jennings Fights for Streetcar Rights

Author: Beth Anderson

Narrator: Karen Chilton

Unabridged: 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 04/18/2023


Synopsis

In 1854, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings, an African American schoolteacher, fought back when she was unjustly denied entry to a New York City streetcar, sparking the beginnings of the long struggle to gain equal rights on public transportation.

One hundred years before Rosa Parks took her stand, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. Though there were plenty of empty seats, she was denied entry, assaulted, and threatened all because of her race--even though New York was a free state at that time. Lizzie decided to fight back. She told her story, took her
case to court--where future president Chester Arthur represented her--and won! Her victory was the first recorded in the fight for equal rights on public transportation, and Lizzie's case set a precedent. Author Beth Anderson and acclaimed illustrator E. B. Lewis bring this inspiring, little-known story to life in this captivating book.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Richie

Richie’s Picks: LIZZIE DEMANDS A SEAT! ELIZABETH JENNINGS FIGHTS FOR STREETCAR RIGHTS by Beth Anderson and E.B. Lewis, ill., Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek, January 2020, 32p., ISBN: 978-1-62979-939-1 “A monument for civil rights icon Elizabeth Jennings Graham will be dedicated in Grand Central Terminal a......more

Goodreads review by Shaye

In 1854, twenty-four year old Lizzie Jennings was kicked off a streetcar, illegally. The rules were that Black people could ride the regular streetcars as long as no Whites objected. She’d been born free and was a respectable school teacher. And no one objected to her riding. After her dismissal, a......more

Goodreads review by June

Tells the story of the woman who helped start the long fight for equal treatment on public transportation. I learned that Chester Arthur represented her before he became president. I also learned of NYC students finally having the city recognize her naming the area she got thrown off after her and g......more

Goodreads review by Carrie

I was thrilled to win a copy of LIZZIE DEMANDS A SEAT in an online giveaway, and even more excited to read the story of this courageous woman and the part she played in the fight against segregation on public transportation. Standard history books often gloss over the deep history of these battles a......more