Christopher Paul Curtis' The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 is a historical fiction book that develops around a close knit family dealing with the rebellion of the oldest child. The story unfolds in Flint, Michigan and is told through the voice of the youngest boy, Kenny. Through the thoughts of this ten-year-old boy we get a glimpse into the life of an African American family struggling to deal with the defiance and mean-spirited manner in which his oldest brother, Byron, is living his teen age years. In the end it is a family trip to Birmingham, Alabama where their Grandma Sands lives that serves as a turning point. In Birmingham the family suffers an eye-opening close call that changes the two boys in the family drastically.
The story takes place in Flint, Michigan. From the first chapter we are introduced to the domineering winters in Flint as the family sits huddles together in as many clothes possible. Kenny tells us, "The thermostat was turned all the way up and the furnace was banging and sounding like it was about to blow up but it still felt like Jack Frost had moved in with us." Just as mother nature is inhospitable and testy, so too is school for Kenny or any child that stands out. Bullying is rampant and the children in the school jump on opportunities that arise to make fun of others, whether because of their clothes, their looks, their participation in school, or their lack of money. Through descriptions of the neighborhood, school, and Watsons' home life we develop a feeling for the predominant struggle for money that is ongoing in Flint.
The plot of the story centers around the Watsons' relationships with each other. Through Kenny's eyes we see the closeness of his parents and their love for their children. We also see that there is no love lost between the oldest and youngest sons. Byron, a bully with no remorse, escalates his acts of defiance eventually driving the parents to drastic measures. When Wilona and Daniel resolve to take Byron to Birmingham and leave him there with Grandma Sands for the summer, the well planned trip goes awry and a moment at a dark rest area, in which the children, unused to rural life, foreshadows further moments of fear waiting for them. The family trip becomes a jarring event that introduces them to death.
The characters in The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 interact to give us a distinct feel for the family in which we can easily relate our own experiences. The parents, Wilona and Daniel, care deeply for each other and for their children. Humorous moments are woven in with concern and times when frustration and discipline are doled out. Through Kenny we see what it means to be the middle child that stands out for his intelligence and physically for a lazy eye. Meanwhile, Byron serves as the predominant antagonist constantly engaged in tormenting his brother and others.
Curtis' style of writing in the story lends to the authenticity of the time and it's characters. The language is clear and concise in keeping with the voice of an intelligent ten-year-old boy. It's through the feelings, observations, and questions of this voice that we frame the story. In keeping with the time period and backgrounds of the characters, 60's jargon and dialects make their appearance throughout the text.
As Curtis is writing on a time period, place, and culture in which he grew up it is easy for us to trust his authority on the subject. At the end of the story, the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing serves as an awakening for the family and Kenny in particular has a difficult time processing his feelings about the event. Originally Christopher Paul Curtis had the Watsons traveling to Florida where Grandma Sands lived but changed the story when his son came home with a poem by Dudley Randall entitled, "Ballad of Birmingham." Curtis borrowed images of the poem as inspiration for the end of his story. The last line of the poem laments, "O, here's the shoe my baby wore, but baby where are you?" When Kenny enters the church believing his sister was inside, he rustles with death in the form of the Wool Pooh only to walk away with a small black shoe.
The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963 is a work of historical fiction that does touch on racism and the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. First and foremost, however, it is the story of a families shared humor and struggles in the 1960's in Flint, Michigan. It is this concentration on the development of the characters and their relationships with each other that draw us into the family and create an investment of emotion for what they are going through. In this family we see connections to our own and are introduced to one African American families exposure to violence and racism in a family visit to the south.
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