Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend

A Civil Rights Story

By: Bettye Stroud, Calvin Alexander Ramsey, John Holyfield (Illustrator)

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Hardcover | 1 September 2011

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A true story inspires the moving tale of a mule that played a key role in the civil rights movement-- and a young boy who sees history anew.

Sitting on a bench waiting for his mother, Alex spies a mule chomping on greens in someone’s garden, and he can’t help but ask about it.""Ol Belle?â says Miz Pettway next to him. âShe can have all the collards she wants. She’s earned it.â And so begins the tale of a simple mule in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who played a singular part in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. When African-Americans in a poor community-- inspired by a visit from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-- defied local authorities who were trying to stop them from registering to vote, many got around a long detour on mule-drawn wagons. Later, after Dr. King’s assassination, two mules from Gee’s Bend pulled the farm wagon bearing his casket through the streets of Atlanta. As Alex looks into the eyes of gentle Belle, he begins to understand a powerful time in history in a very personal way.

Industry Reviews

This small snapshot of the protest movement pays homage to both the determination of ordinary folk and the power of Dr. King's words. Holyfield's intense acrylic paintings, in blues, yellows and browns, evoke the heat and the drama. . . . An intergenerational story filled with heart and soul.
--Kirkus Reviews

The smooth, flowing narration establishes a southern tone and gracefully inserts details about the poor, hardworking African American community, both past and present. Expressive, realistic acrylic paintings portray the interaction between Alex and Miz Pettway with humor and dignity.
--Booklist
An intergenerational story filled with heart and soul.
--Kirkus Reviews

Lovely to look at, informative, infinitely readable. The kind of book you can simply enjoy reading and having on your shelf.
--A Fuse 8 Production (SLJ blog)

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