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Moving Forward: From Space-Age Rides to Civil Rights Sit-Ins with Airman Alton Yates

Moving Forward: From Space-Age Rides to Civil Rights Sit-Ins with Airman Alton Yates

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Moving Forward: From Space-Age Rides to Civil Rights Sit-Ins with Airman Alton Yates

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Author(s)

Chris Barton

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Steffi Walthall

Publisher

Beach lane Books

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

January 11, 2022

ISBN

978-1534473652

Buy This Book

Meet activist Alton Yates, an Air Force veteran who dedicated his life to propelling America forward—from space travel to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond—in this inspiring nonfiction picture book. As a child growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Alton Yates watched Black veterans return home from fighting for their country, only to have that country turn its back on them. After Alton joined the Air Force and risked his life to make spacecraft and airplane flight safer, he returned home to the same Jim Crow laws. Alton now had a new mission: To make a stand against Jim Crow. Based on author Chris Barton’s extensive interviews, witness Alton Yates’s lifelong commitment to his country, as he put his life on the line time and again for science, for civil rights, and for America’s progress.

As a child growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, Alton Yates watched Black veterans return home from fighting for their country, only to have that country turn its back on them. After Alton joined the Air Force and risked his life to make spacecraft and airplane flight safer, he returned home to the same Jim Crow laws.

Alton now had a new mission: To make a stand against Jim Crow.

Based on author Chris Barton’s extensive interviews, witness Alton Yates’s lifelong commitment to his country, as he put his life on the line time and again for science, for civil rights, and for America’s progress.

Editor review

1 review

Intriguing Aviation Pioneer

March 19, 2022 (Updated: July 22, 2026)

Overall rating

4.7

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Learning Value

5.0

Alton Yates grew up in Florida, where he saw the prejudice that men who fought in World War I and II, as well as the Koren conflict, faced. Still, he was interested in the Air Force, and was inspired by Captain Chappie James, who visited his school. President Truman had ordered the armed forces to end segregation, which was a hopeful sign, and Alton enlisted in the Air Force in 1955. He worked with Lt. Col. Stapp, who was running tests on how protection could prevent injuries in airplane and car crashes. These high speed tests often left Alton bruised and sore, but he could see the potential for helping others that these tests had. When his father was ill in 1959, he left the Air Force and returned home. He experienced many instances of racism, which lead him to work with the NAACP Youth Council. This group of dedicated young people lead sit ins at lunch counters to try to change the rules in the South. One of these protests, at a Woolworth's near Hemming Park, was met with the armed resistance of people who opposed the NAACP. It became very violent, although Alton's group had a nonviolent protest, and ended with Alton being gravely injured when a man took an axe handle to the back of his head. Through dedication and hard work, Alton and groups like his slowly made some changes in the community, but much work remains.

Good Points

Young readers today might take seat belts for granted, but I vividly remember the 1984 requirement for seat belts being new and innovative. It's good to see some of the people who worked in the background on the research that lead to the implementation of laws to help keep people safe. Also good to see was the efforts of ordinary people who made a big difference in Civil Rights, often to their own detriment.

There is an annotated timeline, creator notes, and selected sources listed at the end. I loved that Alton is shown in one of the panels talking to author Chris Barton, and that there is a photograph of the two, along with Alton's wife, at the end of the book.

The pictures in this book are brightly colored, and the illustration style is very engaging. We get a good feel for the settings from the backgrounds in each picture, and the faces are very expressive. The scene at Hemming Park during Ax Handle Saturday (as the day became known) was rendered in black and red in a rather frightening manner, underscoring the severity of the event.

This is a great title to include in a Civil Rights picture book library along with titles like Winter's Lillian's Right to Vote, Weatherford's The Faith of Elijah Cummings, and Tonatiuh's Soldier for Equality.