Synopses & Reviews
The civil rights movement was arguably the most important reform in American history. This book recounts the extraordinary and often bloody story of how tens of thousands of ordinary blacks overcame long odds to dethrone segregation, to exercise the right to vote and to improve their economic standing. Their civil rights movement required unfathomable courage and persistent agitation, during which many activists sacrificed their homes, jobs and lives.
Written in a lively and accessible style, the book:
- Provides a detailed discussion of the racism that accompanied slavery in America and thereafter consigned blacks to an inferior position
- Addresses the actions of white racists, white liberals, and black reformers and radicals
- Discusses local reformers who laboured for years to get the movement off the ground
- Provides documents covering the most important aspects of the modern civil rights movement
- Contains Maps and Photographs, as well as a Glossary, a Chronology, a Who's Who list of key figures, and a Bibliography.
Organized in a clear chronological fashion, the book shows how concerted black pressure in a variety of forms ultimately carried the day in realizing a more just society for African Americans. It will provide students of American history with an invaluable comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.
Bruce J. Dierenfield is Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professor of American History at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.
Synopsis
A vivid, lively, accessible, and comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights movement.
- Provides a detailed discussion of the racism that accompanied slavery in America and thereafter consigned African-Americans to an inferior position
- Addresses the actions of racists, liberals, and reformers and radicals
- Discusses local reformers who laboured for years to get the movement off the ground
- Provides documents covering the most important aspects of the modern civil rights movement
- Contains Maps and Photographs, as well as a Glossary, Chronology, a Who's Who list of key figures, and a Guide to Further Reading
- The chronology and glossary sections are the most detailed of their kind
Synopsis
What¿s it about?
The Civil Rights movement is generally conceded to be the most significant American reform of the 20th Century. This textbook examines the African-American struggle for equality, from emancipation through to the modern day. Although the main focus of the book is on the 1960s, the introductory section looks back to the nineteenth century, while the Assessment section explores the reasons for the collapse of the civil rights movement and look at continuing discrimination into the 1970s and beyond.
About the Author
Bruce J. Dierenfield is Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professor of American History at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where he directs the All-College Honors Program and the African-American Experience.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List Of Abbreviations
The Problem
PART ONE: THE MISSISSIPPI PLAN
1. Jim Crow South
PART TWO: THE NEW NEGRO
2. Origins of the Movement
3. The Brown Decision
4. Little Rock Crisis
PART THREE: FREEDOM BOUND
5. Montgomery Bus Boycott
6. Sit-Ins
7. Freedom Ride
8. Battle Of Ole Miss
9. Bombingham
10. March On Washington
PART FOUR: THE MOVEMENT FRACTURES
11. Freedom Summer
12. Bloody Sunday
PART FIVE: THE DREAM DEFERRED
13. Epilogue
PART SIX: ASSESSMENT
PART SEVEN: DOCUMENTS
PART EIGHT: APPENDICES
Chronology
Glossary
Who¿s Who
Bibliographic Essay
Index