A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story

The true story of how a ride on a carousel made a powerful Civil Rights statement




A Ride to Remember tells how a community came together—both
black and white—to make a change. When Sharon Langley was born in the
early 1960s, many amusement parks were segregated, and African-American
families were not allowed entry. This book reveals how in the summer of
1963, due to demonstrations and public protests, the Gwynn Oak Amusement
Park in Maryland became desegregated and opened to all for the first
time. Co-author Sharon Langley was the first African-American child to
ride the carousel. This was on the same day of Martin Luther King Jr.’s
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Langley’s ride to remember
demonstrated the possibilities of King’s dream. This book includes
photos of Sharon on the carousel, authors’ notes, a timeline, and a
bibliography.