• Winner of the 2008 Jane Addam's Children's Book Award in the Books for Older Children category
• Included on the 15th Annual Skipping Stones Honor Awards list.
• Included in the 2008 edition of The Best Children’s Books of the Year, an annotated bibliography from the Children’s Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education in New York City.

 "A captivating biography of the man who has been called the “intellectual engineer” of the Civil Rights Movement. ...The author’s writing is lively and clear, and he adeptly places Rustin in the larger context of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement. The attractive design, with large, clear, black-and-white photographs and plenty of white space, enhances the readability of the text. Red and blue bars emphasize important quotations, lyrics to spirituals, and some photo captions. A gem for students studying the Civil Rights Movement and an excellent addition to any American history collection."
     —School Library Journal

"Clearly written, informal text...accompanied by eloquently captioned archival photos that include disturbing images of racist violence, as well as stirring pictures of Rustin "in protest mode."
     —Booklist

"An effective mix of major historical events and small, telling anecdotes, along with the attractive photo-essay format, make this a fascinating volume, informative and well written. An excellent author's note matter-of-factly discusses Rustin's homosexuality, his early involvement with the Young Communist League and his pacifism and imprisonment during World War II, factors that made him controversial and a potential liability to the movement. The bibliography is skimpy, with little to guide young readers to the many other fine books on the subject, but this is an excellent addition to that growing body of literature about the Civil Rights movement."
     —Kirkus Reviews


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 "A captivating biography of the man who has been called the “intellectual engineer” of the Civil Rights Movement. ...The author’s writing is lively and clear, and he adeptly places Rustin in the larger context of the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement. The attractive design, with large, clear, black-and-white photographs and plenty of white space, enhances the readability of the text. Red and blue bars emphasize important quotations, lyrics to spirituals, and some photo captions. A gem for students studying the Civil Rights Movement and an excellent addition to any American history collection."
     —School Library Journal

"Clearly written, informal text...accompanied by eloquently captioned archival photos that include disturbing images of racist violence, as well as stirring pictures of Rustin "in protest mode."
     —Booklist

"An effective mix of major historical events and small, telling anecdotes, along with the attractive photo-essay format, make this a fascinating volume, informative and well written. An excellent author's note matter-of-factly discusses Rustin's homosexuality, his early involvement with the Young Communist League and his pacifism and imprisonment during World War II, factors that made him controversial and a potential liability to the movement. The bibliography is skimpy, with little to guide young readers to the many other fine books on the subject, but this is an excellent addition to that growing body of literature about the Civil Rights movement."
     —Kirkus Reviews

"This book is an excellent biography for a middle grade reader. An older reader would find it a good jumping off point for a deeper exploration of several topics—Rustin’s life, the story of nonviolent protest, or the history of the civil rights movement in America. The prose flows easily, and the pictures are dynamic with captions that expand upon the text. Brimner sets Rustin in the context of the twentieth century and includes informative sidebars about African American history."
     —Voice of Youth Advocates