Voices in Our Blood

by Jon Meacham

Newsweek managing editor Jon Meacham has compiled what the nation's best writers had to say about the movement as it happened, offering a narrative that begins before World War II and takes us to the affirmative-action wars still being fought today. The success of the civil rights movement was never inevitable, and the story of race in America is much more of a cliffhanger than most would think.
Offering classic narratives by Richard Wright and Eudora Welty and the writings of artists and journalists such as Robert Penn Warren, Maya Angelou, and David Halberstam, this groundbreaking anthology is the premier source for the most important interpretations of the civil rights movement, past and present. Voices in Our Blood is a compelling history, vividly told.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, Politics, American History, American

ebook

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jon Ellis Meacham is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. A former executive editor and executive vice president at Random House, he is a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor to Time magazine, and a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He is the author of several books. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. He holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Endowed Chair in American Presidency at Vanderbilt University.

Reviews

[John Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing anthology of Civil Rights Movement coverage. So unfortunately relevant to our times. I had to put it down for a month after reading reporter coverage of the Wallace campaign containing identical descriptions to any modern Trump rally. Familiar with the speeches and essays of Civil Rights leaders, the book offered to me new brilliant stories and essays from journalists covering the movement.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a huge disappointment. The essays started out super interesting but as I continued to read I noticed there were a disproportionate amount written by white authors. Also some of them were blatantly racist in that old fashioned least racist of the racists way (looking at you Faulkner essay). Many of the essayists praised Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King jr. (rightfully so) but unnecessarily demonized Malcom X and many other more radical members involved in the black power movement. At the end I looked up the editor and realized of course he was white. So this is a typical white liberal/moderate compilation of essays moderate essays. Some are worth reading but definitely not all.

[Veronica Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!! This is a complete work of history that must be read by all. For those interested in the civil rights movement from it's early beginnings to today's implications on our current political situation. Jon Meacham gathered 40 of the best authors for this subject that takes us from the thoughts on slavery yo the civil rights movement under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as dealing with issues that impact us today.

The book does allow you to read by subject or by the order the editor placed it together. I read this twice because I wanted to appreciate not only the time period but also the individual story of each author that was added to the anthology itself. I spent a lot of time learning about the individualistic history of each of the 40 authors, men and women who had individual struggle with being black in America.

[Lisa Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the time it takes to read

This anthology is good on so many levels. Kudos to the editor for his choices and the way he organized the pieces. The book is basically chronological and covers quite a span of time. The pieces are grouped in sections, and each section has an introduction. These introductions provide background on the authors and pieces coming up. I found them helpful. Some books on the Civil Rights era can make a white person feel steamrolled - just overwhelmed by the rage and horror caused by racism. It can make it hard to persevere through the book. This book had doses of that (as it should), but was balanced by a wide range of viewpoints and styles.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sometimes harsh reminder of how it was provides insight into how it is and the complexity of racial issues in our time. For those of us who grew up as middle class whites in the segregated South of the 60s, it's a good reminder that what we experienced and what we remember is both truth and a myth.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm re-reading this anthology. I just visited the Civil Rights South, and so it was/is especially relevant. It is a strong collection of writing.

[Fernando Biorato · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good detailed book in my perspective. Helped me a lot for my research paper on the Civil Rights movement.