From Dear America: With the Might of Angels This morning when I sat down, Daddy took a break from his breakfast reading. The little smile playing in his eyes told me a surprise was brewing. He looked at me for a long moment. "Happy birthday, Dawnie." Then he pushed that New York paper under my nose. "Here, child." He was eager to show me the front page headline. "Clip this for your new diary." I looked carefully. Daddy told me to read what I saw. He said, "Speak loud enough to scare some pigeons." I read slowly, pressing each word into the warm morning air. Washington - May 17, 1954 High Court Bans School Segregation: 9-to-0 Decision Grants Time to Comply Seems Mama already knew the news. Didn't take her but a minute to hand me a pair of scissors from her sewing basket, and a tin of paste from her craft bin. "Make your birthday book look pretty," Goober said. Nobody even had to tell me what to do. I knew right off why those scissors and paste brush were suddenly in my hands. I've carefully glued the headline right here as a memory of the day I turned twelve. Excerpted from With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia 1954 by Andrea Davis Pinkney All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.