Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia C. McKissack is a book that I love to use when discussing segregation with students. The story is beautifully done and is recalled from experiences that McKissack had growing up in Nashville, Tennessee during the 1950s. Pinkney's watercolors bring the pages to life.
The story details Tricia Ann's journey from her home to downtown where her "Someplace Special" is located. Along the way, she encounters rude stares, ugly comments, and embarrassment. This was of course during the time of Jim Crow laws (blacks had to sit on the back of busses, drink from specified fountains, etc.) Tricia Ann finally arrives at her "Someplace Special" and it is the Public Library!! Above the front of the building are the words etched in stone "Public Library: All Are Welcome." That statement sets the tone for how I want all students to feel about the library this year.
I always share the dedication and other special pages with my students as well because there is usually valuable information there. In McKissack's note at the back of the book, she shares that in the late 1950s, Nashville's public library board of directors voted to integrate all of their facilities. The downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library was one of the very few places that people of color did not have to endure the humilation of Jim Crow signs. Pinkney was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award for this book in 2002.
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