Through My Eyes

Through My Eyes is a microhistory. Through an important case study, it emphasizes the importance of a larger context. The larger context to which Bridges most directly refers in her narrative is the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the final chapter, she also alludes to ongoing racism and persistent legal and social issues that lead to decreased opportunity for Black Americans. To deliver a coherent narrative appropriate for a middle-grade audience and keep the story streamlined and focused, Bridges focuses most centrally on education. It is helpful, however, to understand the conditions that created segregation and fostered the level of hatred observable in the segregationists’ abusive treatment towards Bridges, other Black families, and white allies.

After the Union won the Civil War and abolished slavery, the period known as Reconstruction occurred from 1865-1877. During that time, Union troops stationed in the South forced compliance with new laws that granted African Americans citizenship and allowed them to vote and run for office. As a result, Black people made considerable gains in Southern politics and set up social systems to aid formerly enslaved people.