In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma

Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century

by Bernard LaFayette Jr., Kathryn Lee Johnson, Raymond Arsenault (Afterword)

Bernard LaFayette Jr. (b. 1940) was a cofounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a leader in the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, a Freedom Rider, an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the national coordinator of the Poor People's Campaign. At the young age of twenty-two, he assumed the directorship of the Alabama Voter Registration Project in Selma -- a city that had previously been removed from the organization's list due to the dangers of operating there.

In this electrifying memoir, written with Kathryn Lee Johnson, LaFayette shares the inspiring story of his years in Selma. When he arrived in 1963, Selma was a small, quiet, rural town. By 1965, it had made its mark in history and was nationally recognized as a battleground in the fight for racial equality and the site of one of the most important victories for social change in our nation.

LaFayette was one of the primary organizers of the 1965 Selma voting rights movement and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, and he relates his experiences of these historic initiatives in close detail. Today, as the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is still questioned, citizens, students, and scholars alike will want to look to this book as a guide. Important, compelling, and powerful, In Peace and Freedom presents a necessary perspective on the civil rights movement in the 1960s from one of its greatest leaders.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir, African American, Biography

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 26, 2013

Reviews

[Dewin Anguas Barnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and important read for those wanting a first-person perspective of the voting rights struggle in Selma, Alabama. And, when I say first person, I mean it. Local advocates had been working on voting rights for years until Bernard LaFayette came in as part of SNCC to aid them in their leadership. No one else wanted to take on Selma, and there was little hope among the organization that anything would be accomplished- that is, until Dr. LaFayette entered the picture and made Selma the site of a major change in the course of history. He is personally responsible for the Voting Rights Act being signed as soon as it was, in my opinion. He is a great man, who, like his friend and co-activist John Lewis, maintained an "under-the-radar" persona in order to be able to focus more on the actual movement and less on the publicity of it all. He is a great and amazing leader whom we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to. I also appreciated that he includes in this book several tactics of nonviolence training which are not included in Congressman Lewis' book.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot find the words to express my awe regarding what Dr. LaFayette and his contemporaries endured to make the world a better place. This book took me a bit longer than most to finish, but only because the story being told deserved my undivided attention and I was drawn into learning more about each of the events described in this book, so I tended to pause in my reading and research some of the supporting documents noted in the book to learn more. I am SO glad I did!

The basic premise of nonviolence seems so simple, yet those that enacted the ideals and held firm to these principles are truly incredible human beings and SO much more needs to be shared about their peaceful attempts to be the change they wanted (and we all needed) to see in the world. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I am grateful that my daughter has been lucky enough to build a relationship with such an amazing couple as Dr. & Mrs. LaFayette and learn so much from them that she is applying to her generation and our future.

[Sarah Toppins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bernard LaFayette, Jr. is my new civil rights hero. He was one of our speakers at a Road Scholar Civil Rights Conference in Montgomery, AL in February 2020. We heard him talk about his time as a Freedom Rider. Because I was sitting by his wife, I bought his book, which I thought would be about that period of his life. It was not. This book describes how he went to Selma, AL to lead a voting rights campaign. SNCC had decided that Selma was too tough to run a campaign, but because it was the only location without a campaign and a campaign leader, LaFayette volunteered. The rest is history. Sunday, Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights led to the Voting Rights Act and Bernard LaFayette was one of the humble leaders who worked to form community. He didn't seek the limelight, but I believe he is as deserving as many of the others who became famous because of their involvement. This book is inspirational.

[Diane Busch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing to have first-hand knowledge of this history written down. These stories of fighting for civil rights in the 1960's are hard to read but important for all to know. The treatment of blacks in the south even during my lifetime is infuriating, but the stories of the brave men and women who stood firm and fought for their rights is inspiring.

Bernard LaFayette was a civil rights activist who led the charge of getting African Americans registered to vote in Selma in the 1960's. He was an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so they often ended up a the same strategic places and events. The march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 was one such event. LaFayette purported non-violence even in the face of danger and foul treatment.

Narrator has a great voice for this project.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the details revealed in telling how Selma became the center of Civil Rights Movement. I took a trip to Hale County, AL a few years ago and first learned about the march from Selma to Montgomery from Theresa Burroughs of the Safe House Museum. I left asking why Selma though? Now I know it was the toughest place for blacks to register to vote. It had the potential to prove that people were denied their rights and showed that to a national audience when nonviolent protestors were attacked by state police. This book does a great job telling the first hand account of the movement and incredible change that the Voting Rights Act made in rural Alabama.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir of Freedom rider Dr. Bernard LaFayette tells the story of the Freedom Rides, Selma voting rights initiative, Poor People’s Campaign, the civil rights movement in Chicago, and many more details from a man active in the past and present teaching and practicing nonviolence as an ordained Baptist minister. His joyful outlook in the face of evil racism is inspiring. This is an informative and engaging read.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lafayette and Johnson go into time of American events that have not been talked much about in these times. Yes, there were plenty of things since 1963. But the events were in Alma, Alabama. The story shows how the US began to change about how people could be given the rights to to do what all white people could do. Bernarm and Kathryn take us back to one of the most important events that changed the US.

[Alexandra Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no knowledge of Selma or Bernard LaFayette Jr. prior to this book. I think this was an important read, and I gained a lot of knowledge about the voting rights struggle. S/o book club for always keeping me learning.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."

[Charles Collyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of Doc's stories, emphasizing his work (starting in 1962) in Selma prior to the voting rights campaign of 1965.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very heart felt memoir about the Civil Rights era in AL, especially Selma.

[Shane Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

History you can embrace with both arms

This text was touching and moved you in a way that is not only inspiring but equips you to take life lessons and apply them to your own work.

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The personal account of a behind the scenes man of a part of the Civil Rights movement. While his view is written from the perspective of one on the heat of things he keeps his private life separate, so it's not an autobiography. There should be more accounts of the men and women that were instrumental in this vital work that didn't make the spot light. The author writes informally about a notorious historical period in not just the U.S. but in the world. The whole world watched while youngsters were beaten, murdered and went missing to have human rights. Certainly one could say that globally pressure was put on the U.S. to pick up a few more notches in passing through bills and there was the feeling of embarrassment, however, no sanctions were called upon the U.S. or overt criticism to treat countless millions of people as human beings, as people. The only way these bills were passed through was when a white man died, notably for Johnson the death of a white man in the service of his god. This reader can't help but ask what would have happened if Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had lived? More than just the bill of Voting Rights Legislation passed through quicker, but something more. That which would not have black people in the U.S. today being behind bars more than any white counterpart, that which would have black students in schools longer and graduating. That which by having a black president more recently doesn't mean the situation of black people in the U.S. has improved 100 fold and nothing more needs ever done again. In the 21st century it is so easy for people to say that what happened with the Civil Rights movement was a product of the period, it was stuff that happened in the 1960s and the Civil Rights was won, story over. But what people fail to understand is that the Civil Rights movement was more than just getting the vote, how simple that sounds and how cruel the memories of all those that died getting the vote is when people now throw their vote away in apathy. The situation for many blacks and other people of other backgrounds is still the same, there are still gangs, there are still slums and in the case of the Bush election where 10,000 blacks were denied the vote, how much further have we come? Bernard Lafayette writes of the struggle at the time but leaves speculation of the future. Perhaps in his case words of the actions then are meant to speak to the future? Many of us are to think President Obama has swept the slate clean in history, he has not, he has put a bandage over the sores, most still fresh, in the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Steven Lawrence, Damilola Taylor, Jordan Davis and countless other youths. As long as elections are not rigged black men and women can vote, in a court of law they are recognised as human beings and apparently in employing, loans, rentals, sales etc. businesses are not allowed to discriminate based on colour. That is how far we have come in equality. The road is still a long hard one and Dr. King amongst countless others dream has yet to be fulfilled regardless of how many statues are built in his and their honour.

[Carol Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book, particularly for anyone interested in the History of the Civil Rights Movement.
Selma, Alabama burst upon the American consciousness as a full blown problem in 1965, with vivid media photos and descriptions of racial turmoil. But as Bernard LaFayette Jr. describes in his thoughtful, understated account – In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma -- LaFayette had in fact spent two years working full time on his own carefully researched, well thought out plan to overturn the White power structure’s dominance and intimidation of local African Americans.
His experience as a Freedom Rider in 1961 was helpful, as were his many lunch-counter Sit-In demonstrations, and lessons in non-violence from Rev Dr James Lawson, all of which buoyed his self-confidence. Having been told however that his success in Selma was unlikely, at age 22 Lafayette surprised his colleagues and even his mentors, Rev Lawson and Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
In a characteristic move, soon after he arrived in Selma he sought a meeting at the office of the Sheriff, Jim Clark, notorious for violence and unwavering support of racial segregation. LaFayette sought to demonstrate his lack of fear, and to, in his words, show respect. That respect was not reciprocated, however, until many years later, when Lafayette’s actions had clearly won the day, an important milestone in the fight for racial justice not only in Alabama but in America.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very wonderful book as all books like these are. And so many people don't understand how much they suffered and still do. Such courageous people.