The civil rights movement that loomed over the 1950s and 1960s was the tip of an iceberg, the legal and political remnant of a broad, raucous, deep...
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reviews
Jun 28, 2011
John
rated it: 
This books is amazing.
Most people hear civil rights and they start with names like Rosa Parks and MLK. Gilmore goes into the less celebrated but extremely important and interesting long civil rights movement that preceded the stage most of us are familiar with. This is an era where civil rights was strongly tied to labor movements, communism, the New Deal, and various student organizations in southern universities like UNC.
This book is also amongst one of the most carefully More...
Most people hear civil rights and they start with names like Rosa Parks and MLK. Gilmore goes into the less celebrated but extremely important and interesting long civil rights movement that preceded the stage most of us are familiar with. This is an era where civil rights was strongly tied to labor movements, communism, the New Deal, and various student organizations in southern universities like UNC.
This book is also amongst one of the most carefully More...
Dec 07, 2009
Joshua
rated it: 
I got this book as a graduation present a year and a half ago and that's how long it took me to read it. The book never really kept my attention, although I found the last third of the book was much better than the first. Gilmore tries to make the claim the the radical left in the 1920s and 1930s (communists) provided the roots of the civil rights movement. She does a good job of showing how communists were the first people to openly advocate for integration and full racial equality in the south
More...
Dec 03, 2008
Alex
rated it: 
I picked up this book randomly when I saw it in the library, and it turned out to be a worthwhile read. Gilmore, a white female professor from North Carolina, surveys the "radical roots of civil rights" through the efforts of the Communist Party in the South during the 1920s through 1940s.
Gilmore tells the story by focusing on a few individual black radicals who have been forgotten by history, especially Lovett Fort-Whiteman and Pauli Murray.
Whiteman, an extrava More...
Gilmore tells the story by focusing on a few individual black radicals who have been forgotten by history, especially Lovett Fort-Whiteman and Pauli Murray.
Whiteman, an extrava More...
Dec 19, 2009
Melissa
rated it:
I first became familiar with Gilmore's work in college--her Gender and Jim Crow just about changed my life. At the very least, it changed the way I think about history.
Defying Dixie is a much longer, more complicated volume, but well worth the effort. It's the story of how the far left (mainly, Communists) helped get the Civil Rights movement going, long before the "official" civil rights movement. You'll meet some amazing people--I am completely in love with Pauli Murray, and More...
Defying Dixie is a much longer, more complicated volume, but well worth the effort. It's the story of how the far left (mainly, Communists) helped get the Civil Rights movement going, long before the "official" civil rights movement. You'll meet some amazing people--I am completely in love with Pauli Murray, and More...
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Aug 13, 2010
Stacey
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Gilmore succeeds in her basic goal of expanding the story of the long Civil Rights movement, and her use of recently opened Soviet archives allows her to convey the linkages between international communism and the Civil rights movement of the interwar years. Although at their essence these points are certainly not new, Gilmore's book is a welcome addition to the field, particularly as it gives a more international context to a story that is often presented as uniquely American.
Throu More...
Throu More...
Feb 24, 2011
RUSA
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This was one of the 2009 RUSA Notable Books winners. For the complete list, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/a...
Apr 05, 2010
sheena
rated it:
Dope analysis of the civil rights movement's wild love affair with communism. Intriguing and informative review of just how much faith black leaders had in the USSR, and how, for awhile at least, the USSR valued, earned and wanted that black following.
Jan 05, 2008
Always happy to see works on the "radical roots" of something, like radical roots of the women's movement or the radical roots of queer rights movement, etc. Even social work, seen mostly as charitable or welfare work, has radical roots. So, Defying Dixie promises to be an interesting read. We shall see. I'll post my review when done. The NYTimes has a review: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/books/...
May 13, 2008
Kate
rated it:
Really engaging, and I learned a huge amount about the underpinnings of what we think of as the "civil rights movement" of the 1950s and 60s...the struggle was longer, more complicated, and more filled with interesting personalities than we are ever taught in standard history courses. The organizing tactics, and the many decades of failures and successes gave me a lot of perspective on the social justice work I do now.
Feb 16, 2008
Zoe
rated it:
This book looked at the role that the Communist Party played in organizing for racial and economic justice in the South during the first half of the 20th century. It ties together threads from many different lives, and connects to events in the Soviet Union, South Africa, Ethiopia and more. This is a rich history that really gives perspective on who was organizing what and why during that period.
Dec 19, 2009
Christopher
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An underappreciate period of our history, well worth attention. While full of great details, the book never really finds a narrative arc to bring it together, meaning this worthy topic might frustratingly not find an audience with this book.
Feb 22, 2008
Molly
rated it:
Fascinating information about the history of the African American left, but there's no argument and it's very difficult to get past the flowery language. It seems like she's trying to write for a popular audience by condescending to them with creepy cliches. Very strange.
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