Posted By: Dana Valdez, Kelley Willis, and Meghan Yergan
Author: Leon Walter Tillage
Illustrator: Susan L. Roth
Year: 1997
Buy it here!
Recommended for:
Grades 3-5
Social Studies Resource 1
The website is for a Jim Crow museum in Michigan. It has information about the Jim
Crow laws as well as useful videos and resources. A great quote from the
website is: “Using objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and
promote social justice."
Social Studies Resource 2
This is a website that gives teachers great ideas on integrating different lesson plans while reading Leon's Story. There are ideas on how to approach building historical background knowledge, researching important historical events, experiencing different points of view, and identifying story elements.
Arts Resource 1
This website outlines several different art activities to do for Black History Month. Teachers can easily adapt the art projects to make them relevant to Leon's Story.
Arts Resource 2
This website provides many different links for teacher resources pertaining to Black History Month. There is a section with links for music and drama activities, and another section with links for art activities. Many of these activities could be used for Leon's Story.
Important Characters
1. Leon
was a young African American child during the terrible times of discrimination
and segregation who through hardships prevailed to be an honest, hardworking,
determined man. Leon’s Story is an
autobiographical account of his life during 1940’s in a southern town of
North Carolina. Leon was determined to help his family in every way he
could, even as a young boy he worked and helped his family on their farm. He worked many jobs at a time for little
money, from a warehouse, to the back of a restaurant, even risking his life for
a quarter. Leon was very respectful, he always referred to people properly
with “yes, sir” or “yes, ma’am” even those who weren’t respectful to him. He
knew the way blacks were treated was not fair, yet still knew what he
had to do to stay alive. An example is how he would stand back with a smile on
his face anytime a white man walked into a store he was at, if asked to leave
by that white man he would gladly go and wait until the man was done to continue
his shopping. Leon was also a fighter for his people; he marched for black rights during the civil rights movement. He knew he
was facing death with every march he participated in, with items being thrown at the marchers. The Klansmen could shoot, throw dynamite or let dogs
on them, yet he still continued. He persevered through the tragic death of his
father, due to racism, and continued to support his family, and eventually made a
huge impact in the world we live in today.
2.
Mr.
Tillage was a hardworking, strict, and religious man who carried on in a
matter to ensure his family’s safety. Mr. Tillage was a Sharecropper who worked
on a farm owned by Mr. Johnson. Mr. Tillage worked very hard on his farm even
though he had to share half of everything he had with Mr. Johnson, who didn’t
put in labor to grow the crops. Between supplies and food for the family, Mr.
Tillage would always be in debt by the end of they year to Mr. Johnson. Leon
states that his father always took Mr. Johnson’s word because he had no
education and couldn’t read. He could have been cheated out of money all the
time, but he was religious and honest so he didn’t question Mr. Johnson or try
to cheat. Leon got his respectfulness from his father who was strict on his
children, he never allowed the boys to fight and always made his children say
“yes sir” or “yes ma’am” no matter who the person was, or what color their skin
was. Mr. Tillage, being a religious man, would take his family to church
every Sunday and every night they would all get together and pray. Mr. Tillage seemed to not have hope in African Americans
persevering through this time. It may have been how he was raised because when
questioned about the blacks being poor, working all day, and not having nice things, he would tell his children “that’s just they way it is” or “you will
never equal up to the whites.” I think he knew it wasn’t fair, but that’s just
the way it was and he felt helpless, probably intending not to put false hope in
his children's heads. Mr. Tillage died on Leon's 15th birthday when some drunk white children ran him over with a car repeatedly. He inevitably saved his
wife’s life by pushing her out the way and throwing himself in front of the
vehicle. This courageous, hardworking, and respectful man left an impact
on Leon’s life to make him the man he became.
Summary of Historical Context
Leon’s Story is a powerful autobiographical
account of Leon, an African-American boy who grew up in a Jim Crow town in North Carolina. Leon is a sharecropper’s son who grew up in a large black family
and endured racism and oppression throughout his life. The book is broken into nine sections that focus on a specific time period in Leon’s life and gives an
in-depth summary of the injustices he faced in the 1940’s to 1950's. The injustices he endured led to his motivation to march during the civil rights movement.
Element 3:Issues of Social Injustice and Element 4: Social Movements and Social Change
Leon’s Story is linked to the third and fourth elements of social justice. Element three involves issues of social injustice in history. This story gives details of the racism in the Jim Crow south during the 1940’s-1950’s. It gives a personal account of the impact of oppression on an African American family who were sharecroppers in Raleigh, North Carolina. The book is peppered with the harsh realities of the unequal treatment of African Americans with depictions of sharecropping, unequal education, lack of access to well-paying jobs, inadequate housing, unjust laws and law enforcement, the Ku Klux Klan, and the will to survive.
Toward the end of the book, element four is introduced with the main character learning about ways to initiate change. Element four involves movements that were enforced to attack the issues of social injustice in element three. The last chapter of this book gives information on marches that were put together by college students as a way to protest their right to be treated as equals. It goes into depth on how the marches were extremely dangerous and many African Americans opposed them because of the dangers that were involved for participating. The Ku Klux Klan, policemen and firemen were all major threats to participants in the marches. Policemen and Klansmen beat and let dogs chase the marchers, and the firemen used their powerful hoses to spray water that could “peel the skin right off of you.” The book ends with a victory of the marches as a way to show the readers that the main character knew he was entitled to freedom so he got “beat up” in order to retrieve it.
NJ Core Curriculum Standards
Art
1.3.2.C.1 - Portray characters when given specifics about
circumstances, plot, and thematic intent, demonstrating logical story sequence
and informed character choices.
Social Studies
6.1.4.D.16 - Describe how stereotyping and prejudice can
lead to conflict, using examples from the past and present.
6.1.4.A.2 - Explain how fundamental rights guaranteed by the
United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights (i.e., freedom of expression,
freedom of religion, the right to vote, and the right to due process)
contributes to the continuation and improvement of American democracy.
Activity
In small groups, students will discuss some of the stereotypes that were presented in the book by listing them onto chart paper. Then, as a class, students will discuss what they brainstormed in their groups. Students will then conduct research on the definition of sit-ins by completing a web quest. During the web quest, they will also research the fundamental rights of citizens that are documented in the United States Constitution today and compare it to the rights of citizens in the 1950's. Sit-ins are briefly described toward the end of the story. This was also the turning point in Leon's Story since it is when he decided to initiate change through different movements including marches and sit-ins as a way to gain equal rights for African-Americans. After the web quest is complete, students will participate in a think-pair-share to discuss what they learned about the significance of sit-ins, how it relates to our rights as citizens and their opinions on the effectiveness of sit-ins to initiate change in our constitution.
View Letter to Mrs Tillage here!
Endorsement
Leon's Story is an effective tool to teach young people about the Jim Crow south in the 1940’s-1950’s. The story is told in first person and it gives a personal account of how the main character felt during his childhood and young adult life. It is interesting that the story, although written in a language simple enough for a young reader, does not sugar coat the horrors that the main character and his family had to face. The entire book paints a vivid picture of how daily living was drenched in fear and oppression. The main character, Leon, goes into depth with how he felt during each event that he explains. As a result, the reader feels connected to his words and emotions. This makes the story powerful and causes the reader to become not only sympathetic toward Leon, but also angry at how the United States allowed racism to spread like a plague. It is easy to learn about historical events but it is not easy to connect with them. Leon’s Story brings the horrors to life by allowing readers to see how Jim Crow laws affected his family which makes the reader think about how other families were affected as well. Sometimes it is necessary to understand history by connecting with the emotional aspects of historical events on actual people. Leon’s Story does a great job at this since once you start reading, you will not stop until the story ends. It may also inspire readers to do further research on Jim Crow laws, the Ku Klux Klan and how college students and young people were motivated to protest to gain their rights to be treated as equal citizens.
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