The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon, Performed by Dion Graham

Whoa...Dion Graham has quite the voice for audiobooks--he's a name I plan on searching for in the next few months!

Roland Childs has grown up in the civil rights movement--his dad is a Chicago leader who is friends with Martin Luther King, Jr. Roland and his older brother Stick were raised as pacifists, but that's all about to change. It's 1968 and things are crazy in Chicago.  Roland and Stick's friend is accosted by the cops, beaten, and arrested for no reason.  The boys are angry and the Black Panthers seem to be more of an answer than the pacifists. The Panthers want free health clinics, good housing and food for African-Americans and aren't afraid to use intimidation to get it.

I could see this novel being used in the American history curriculum very easily--it's about family, ethics, history, and choosing to make the right decision.