African American Movements
Books & eBooks
Black Lives Matter by ISBN: 9781534502895Publication Date: 2018In 2012, a seventeen-year-old African American boy named Trayvon Martin was murdered in cold blood by a neighborhood vigilante. When the murderer was acquitted, shockwaves ran through African American communities across the United States. The frustration over the perceived lack of value of African Americans in the United States spurred #BlackLivesMatter. The activist group mobilized as a rash of killings of unarmed African Americans by police seemed to plague the country. But many whites didn't understand their cause and responded with All Lives Matter. The viewpoints in this resource ask important questions regarding race in the United States.
Northern Protest by ISBN: 9780674626874Publication Date: 1993After the triumphs of Montgomery and Selma, Martin Luther King, Jr., rallied his forces and headed north. The law was on his side, the nation seemed to be behind him, the crusade for civil rights was rapidly gathering momentum--and then, in Chicago, heartland of America, the movement stalled. What happened? This book is the first to give us the full story--a vivid account of how the Chicago Freedom Movement of 1965-1967 attempted to combat northern segregation. Northern Protest captures this new kind of campaign for civil rights at a fateful turning point, with effects that pulse through the nation's race relations to the day. Combating the outright, unconstitutional denial of basic political and civil rights had been King's focus in the South. In the North, the racial terrian was different. James Ralph analyzes the shift in the planning stages--moving from addressing public constitutional rights to private--impact legal rights--as King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) mounted an unprecedented attack on housing discrimination, one of the most blatant social and economic inequities of urban America. A crisis in the making is unfolded as King, the SCLC, and a coalition of multiracial Chicago civil rights groups mobilize protests against the city's unfair housing practices. Ralph introduces us to Chicago's white ethnics, city officials, and business and religious leaders in a heated confusion of responses. His vibrant account--based in part on many in-depth interviews with participants--reveals the true lineaments of urban America, with lessons reaching beyond the confines of the city. The Chicago Freedom Movement is given a national context--as King envisioned it, and as it finally played out. Here, the Chicago crusade becomes emblematic of the civil rights movement today and tomorrow. Ralph argues that this new push for equality in more private realms of American life actually undermined popular support for the movement and led to its ultimate decline.
Separate No More: the Long Road to Brown V. Board of Education (Scholastic Focus) by ISBN: 9781338592832Publication Date: 2021Critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone offers an affecting portrait of the road to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, which significantly shaped the United States and effectively ended segregation. Since 1896, in the landmark outcome of Plessy v. Ferguson, the doctrine of "separate but equal" had been considered acceptable under the United States Constitution. African American and white populations were thus segregated, attending different schools, living in different neighborhoods, and even drinking from different water fountains. However, as African Americans found themselves lacking opportunity and living under the constant menace of mob violence, it was becoming increasingly apparent that segregation was not only unjust, but dangerous. Fighting to turn the tide against racial oppression, revolutionaries rose up all over America, from Booker T. Washington to W. E. B. Du Bois. They formed coalitions of some of the greatest legal minds and activists, who carefully strategized how to combat the racist judicial system. These efforts would be rewarded in the groundbreaking cases of 1952-1954 known collectively as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the US Supreme Court would decide, once and for all, the legality of segregation -- and on which side of history the United States would stand. In this thrilling examination of the path to Brown v. Board of Education, Constitutional law scholar Lawrence Goldstone highlights the key trials and players in the fight for integration. Written with a deft hand, this story of social justice will remind readers, young and old, of the momentousness of the segregation hearings.
The Art of Protest Second Edition by ISBN: 9781517906214Publication Date: 2019A second edition of the classic introduction to arts in social movements, fully updated and now including Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street, and new digital and social media forms of cultural resistance The Art of Protest, first published in 2006, was hailed as an "essential" introduction to progressive social movements in the United States and praised for its "fluid writing style" and "well-informed and insightful" contribution (Choice Magazine). Now thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition of T. V. Reed's acclaimed work offers engaging accounts of ten key progressive movements in postwar America, from the African American struggle for civil rights beginning in the 1950s to Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter in the twenty-first century. Reed focuses on the artistic activities of these movements as a lively way to frame progressive social change and its cultural legacies: civil rights freedom songs, the street drama of the Black Panthers, revolutionary murals of the Chicano movement, poetry in women's movements, the American Indian Movement's use of film and video, anti-apartheid rock music, ACT UP's visual art, digital arts in #Occupy, Black Lives Matter rap videos, and more. Through the kaleidoscopic lens of artistic expression, Reed reveals how activism profoundly shapes popular cultural forms. For students and scholars of social change and those seeking to counter reactionary efforts to turn back the clock on social equality and justice, the new edition of The Art of Protest will be both informative and inspiring.
A Companion to the Harlem Renaissance by ISBN: 9781118494141Publication Date: 2015A Companion to the Harlem Renaissance presents a comprehensive collection of original essays that address the literature and culture of the Harlem Renaissance from the end of World War I to the middle of the 1930s. Represents the most comprehensive coverage of themes and unique new perspectives on the Harlem Renaissance available Features original contributions from both emerging scholars of the Harlem Renaissance and established academic "stars" in the field Offers a variety of interdisciplinary features, such as the section on visual and expressive arts, that emphasize the collaborative nature of the era Includes "Spotlight Readings" featuring lesser known figures of the Harlem Renaissance and newly discovered or undervalued writings by canonical figures
Selma by ISBN: 9780817319328Publication Date: 2017In 1989, Alston Fitts published a brief history of the city of Selma, Alabama, from its founding through the aftermath of the civil rights movement. Selma: A Bicentennial History is a greatly revised and expanded version of Fitts's history of the city, replete with a wealth of new, never-before-published illustrations, which further develops a number of significant events, corrects critical errors, and, most importantly, incorporates many new stories and materials that document Selma's establishment, growth, and development. Comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and nonpartisan, Fitts's pleasantly accessible history addresses every major issue, movement, and trend from the city's settlement in 1815 to the end of the twentieth century. Its commerce, institutions, governance, as well as its evolving racial, religious, and class composition are all treated with candor and depth. Selma's transformative role within the state and the nation is fully explored, and most notable is a nuanced and complex discussion of race relations from the rise of the civil rights era to modern times. Historians, scholars, and Alabamians will find great use for this updated and fully developed exploration of Selma's rich, complex, and significant history.
Black Liberation from Reconstruction to Black Lives Matter by ISBN: 9780197583951Publication Date: 2021Embracing an argument-based model for teaching history, the Debating American History series encourages students to participate in a contested, evidence-based discourse about the human past. Each book poses a question that historians debate--How democratic is the U.S. Constitution? or Why did civil war erupt in the United States in 1861?--and provides abundant primary sources so that students can make their own efforts at interpreting the evidence. They can then use that analysis to construct answers to the big question that frames the debate and argue in support of their position. Black Liberation from Reconstruction to Black Lives Matter poses this big question: After decades of struggle, was there a breakthrough in civil rights in the 1960s?
The Freedom Rides by ISBN: 9781534562394Publication Date: 2017By the middle of the 1900s, African Americans were tired of the discriminatory treatment they had been receiving even after the abolition of slavery nearly 100 years prior. As the American civil rights movement began to grow, a group of courageous activists, called the Freedom Riders, began challenging the segregated status quo. Assisted by engaging fact boxes and a comprehensive text, readers are placed in the middle of the fight for equality. Striking photographs show readers the human aspect of the push, and fight, for greater social equality.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott by ISBN: 9781491420430Publication Date: 2015The Montgomery Bus Boycott began when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus. The campaign that followed was one of the most important protests against racial segregation in the United States. The boycotters endured violence and vicious words. But they stood up for their beliefs. Explore the points of view of the boycotters and the people who opposed them through powerful primary sources and historical photos.
A Few Red Drops by ISBN: 9780544785137Publication Date: 2018On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the "white" beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business, and clashes of culture.Archival photos and prints, source notes, bibliography, index.- Separate No More: the Long Road to Brown V. Board of Education (Scholastic Focus) by ISBN: 9781338592832Publication Date: 2021Critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone offers an affecting portrait of the road to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, which significantly shaped the United States and effectively ended segregation. Since 1896, in the landmark outcome of Plessy v. Ferguson, the doctrine of "separate but equal" had been considered acceptable under the United States Constitution. African American and white populations were thus segregated, attending different schools, living in different neighborhoods, and even drinking from different water fountains. However, as African Americans found themselves lacking opportunity and living under the constant menace of mob violence, it was becoming increasingly apparent that segregation was not only unjust, but dangerous. Fighting to turn the tide against racial oppression, revolutionaries rose up all over America, from Booker T. Washington to W. E. B. Du Bois. They formed coalitions of some of the greatest legal minds and activists, who carefully strategized how to combat the racist judicial system. These efforts would be rewarded in the groundbreaking cases of 1952-1954 known collectively as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the US Supreme Court would decide, once and for all, the legality of segregation -- and on which side of history the United States would stand. In this thrilling examination of the path to Brown v. Board of Education, Constitutional law scholar Lawrence Goldstone highlights the key trials and players in the fight for integration. Written with a deft hand, this story of social justice will remind readers, young and old, of the momentousness of the segregation hearings.
Twelve Days in May by ISBN: 9781629795867Publication Date: 2017A 2018 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Winner "An engaging and accessible account" for young readers about the Freedom Riders who led the landmark 1961 protests against segregation on buses (School Library Journal) On May 4, 1961, a group of thirteen black and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Ride, aiming to challenge the practice of segregation on buses and at bus terminal facilities in the South. The Ride would last twelve days. Despite the fact that segregation on buses crossing state lines was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1946, and segregation in interstate transportation facilities was ruled unconstitutional in 1960, these rulings were routinely ignored in the South. The thirteen Freedom Riders intended to test the laws and draw attention to the lack of enforcement with their peaceful protest. As the Riders traveled deeper into the South, they encountered increasing violence and opposition. Noted civil rights author Larry Dane Brimner relies on archival documents and rarely seen images to tell the riveting story of the little-known first days of the Freedom Ride.
