Chunchula, Alabama, was no different than any other small, rural community in the 1960's. There was a divide between whites and blacks, and the civil rights movement played a role in the lives of all its residents. In I Lived on the Other Side of the Line, author Carlotta Maria Shinn Russell describes the times through the eyes of the ten-year old Shane Washington and others who experienced the events personally.

I Lived on the Other Side of the Line establishes a descriptive and effective atmosphere for the times leading up to, during, and after the civil rights movement. It offers a twofold look at this era, examining Shane's direct contact with the Klu Klux Klan as well as other youth impacted by racist events. It also shows how the KKK's ideology affected how people thought and acted, including the pain, hurt, and fear inflicted on blacks in the community.

Presented through a child's perspective, this narrative addresses the themes of freedom, discrimination, and segregation during one of the nation's most difficult and important times in history.