Civil Rights For Beginners

by Paul Von Blum, Elizabeth Von Notias (Illustrations)

A large swath of literature on the civil rights movement exists in the United States. Much of that literature focuses on the dramatic events of the African American resistance to Jim Crow and oppression from the mid 1950s through the early 1970s. Frequently, this material is scholarly and, at best, only marginally accessible to the general public. Moreover, many of the books on the modern civil rights movement focus exclusively on a narrow historical time frame and often on widely recognized public figures like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King.

"Civil Rights For Beginners" fills a major gap by placing the modern civil rights movement into a broader historical perspective. It also discusses the civil rights and liberation movements from the 60s to the present that the African American freedom struggles helped to catalyze including the Chicano Movement, the American Indian Movement, the Asian-American Movement, the Women's Movement, and the Gay Liberation Movement.

Unlike most civil rights books, "Civil Rights For Beginners" focuses less on major leaders and more on the ordinary African Americans who provided the backbone of the successful protests and demonstrations. Moreover, it deals with the expressive culture of the movement, surveying key developments in literature, music, visual art, and film, all of which served both as integral features of the movement as well as contributing to its enduring legacy.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2014

Reviews

[Mitchell Hahn-Branson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets the job done. It's not typo-free or elegantly written or anything, but it did fill in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement, especially its earliest years, so I'd call it a decent jumping-off point. Time now to read several of the books cited in the bibliography of this one.

[Katy]

I received my copy free from the publisher through Goodreads Firstreads.

[Keri S · Rating 4 out of 5]

good introduction to the movement and its' history!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the decades of the Civil Rights, and ending with that the fight still continues. Talks briefly about so many people who made a difference.

[Jules Wolfers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, quick learning for folks who want to get a basic understanding, this will help with interest in learning more about civil rights movement which is ongoing.