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Stayed On Freedom: The Long History of Black Power through One Family’s Journey
A new history of Black Liberation, told through the intertwined story of two grassroots organizers
The Black Power movement, often associated with its iconic spokesmen, derived much of its energy from the work of people whose stories have never been told. Stayed On Freedom brings into focus two unheralded Black Power activists who dedicated their lives to the fight for freedom.
Zoharah Simmons and Michael Simmons fell in love while organizing tenants and workers in the South. Their commitment to each other and to social change took them on a decades-long journey that traversed first the country and then the world. In centering their lives, historian Dan Berger shows how Black Power united the local and the global across organizations and generations.
Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, Stayed On Freedom is a moving and intimate portrait of two people trying to make a life while working to make a better world.
The Black Power movement, often associated with its iconic spokesmen, derived much of its energy from the work of people whose stories have never been told. Stayed On Freedom brings into focus two unheralded Black Power activists who dedicated their lives to the fight for freedom.
Zoharah Simmons and Michael Simmons fell in love while organizing tenants and workers in the South. Their commitment to each other and to social change took them on a decades-long journey that traversed first the country and then the world. In centering their lives, historian Dan Berger shows how Black Power united the local and the global across organizations and generations.
Based on hundreds of hours of interviews, Stayed On Freedom is a moving and intimate portrait of two people trying to make a life while working to make a better world.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 24, 2023
18 people are currently reading
1999 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 18, 2025
I was surprised to learn that one of our radical elders in Gainesville was a civil rights veteran who had a book written about her, so of course I had to read it. This book is full of awe-inspiring stories and is a really unique window into history. It's incredible to think that someone who got chased by white mobs during Freedom Summer and pissed off the respectability-oriented black elite during the Civil Rights Movement is still coming to local organizing meetings and whipping up a storm at 80 years old. This book is a reminder of how recent the Civil Rights Movement really was and the prominence of black power that lay below its respectable surface.
January 29, 2023
In STAYED ON FREEDOM, award-winning author Dan Berger presents to the wider world Zoharah and Michael Simmons. Noted figures in multiple countries, they are quiet yet persistent leaders in movements both broad and specific targeting civil and human rights.
Zoharah, whose birth name is Gwendolyn, was a Black child growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, at a time when Jim Crow laws were widely in effect. Though some members of her family feared and avoided whites, her grandmother displayed a defiant attitude that left a deep impression on Zoharah, who became a human rights activist in her college years. In that atmosphere she met Michael Simmons, a Black Philadelphian who by his teens began to parse for himself the racial divides that he observed all around him. Zoharah and Michael admired each other, and their wide-ranging challenges of the system that kept Black people and others in subservience and deprivation underpinned a romance that would last the rest of their lives.
Zoharah became an administrator for the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), and later joined the Black Power movement and the Nation of Islam. Working with Michael, their connections spread, and they were attracted to the goals and activities of the AFSC (American Friends Service Committee). This took them to Europe and elsewhere, then back to the U.S. where they became involved in the rights of Native Americans. Their lives and experiences project human love, warmth and attachment, and a universal sense of the need to right wrongs. As Michael, now in his 70s, puts it, “[W]herever you’re at…some people are being oppressed,” meriting your attention and active assistance.
Berger, a professor of comparative ethnic studies at the University of Washington Bothell, has organized this chronicle as something akin to side-by-side biographies. Although Zoharah and Michael always envisioned the same goals for humankind and took on similar challenges, each was so dynamic that their individual actions and attitudes sometimes led them in separate directions. This gives Berger's diligently researched work even greater cause and credibility, as readers will see Michael rigorously concerned with the rights of the Roma people of Europe, and Zoharah always involved in the struggles of women.
There is also a historical skein that runs through the narrative --- the growth and gradual change and broadening of focus within the Black rights movement, a transformation to which the couple has been inevitably and inextricably linked. STAYED ON FREEDOM is perfect for individual study and would make for a lively discussion among academic, activist and even religious assemblages.
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
Zoharah, whose birth name is Gwendolyn, was a Black child growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, at a time when Jim Crow laws were widely in effect. Though some members of her family feared and avoided whites, her grandmother displayed a defiant attitude that left a deep impression on Zoharah, who became a human rights activist in her college years. In that atmosphere she met Michael Simmons, a Black Philadelphian who by his teens began to parse for himself the racial divides that he observed all around him. Zoharah and Michael admired each other, and their wide-ranging challenges of the system that kept Black people and others in subservience and deprivation underpinned a romance that would last the rest of their lives.
Zoharah became an administrator for the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), and later joined the Black Power movement and the Nation of Islam. Working with Michael, their connections spread, and they were attracted to the goals and activities of the AFSC (American Friends Service Committee). This took them to Europe and elsewhere, then back to the U.S. where they became involved in the rights of Native Americans. Their lives and experiences project human love, warmth and attachment, and a universal sense of the need to right wrongs. As Michael, now in his 70s, puts it, “[W]herever you’re at…some people are being oppressed,” meriting your attention and active assistance.
Berger, a professor of comparative ethnic studies at the University of Washington Bothell, has organized this chronicle as something akin to side-by-side biographies. Although Zoharah and Michael always envisioned the same goals for humankind and took on similar challenges, each was so dynamic that their individual actions and attitudes sometimes led them in separate directions. This gives Berger's diligently researched work even greater cause and credibility, as readers will see Michael rigorously concerned with the rights of the Roma people of Europe, and Zoharah always involved in the struggles of women.
There is also a historical skein that runs through the narrative --- the growth and gradual change and broadening of focus within the Black rights movement, a transformation to which the couple has been inevitably and inextricably linked. STAYED ON FREEDOM is perfect for individual study and would make for a lively discussion among academic, activist and even religious assemblages.
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
February 3, 2023
I think this book by Dan Burger has had the same effect on me that the history of Tuskegee university in Alabama and Lionel Richie’s biography did. You might wonder why a book about two people who were so selfless in their life and giving everything to a movement they believed in heart and soul would affect me the same way a town in Alabama and a rock singers biography could but in all three books it’s a story about people being and reaching their own potential that they set for there self and not the status quo that was expected. Tuskegee is rich an African American thinkers philosophers it created a whole community and university that supported each other and that is how I see this book is similar. This book is about Zara and Michael Simmons. She grew up in Tennessee and he grew up in Philadelphia two totally different environments with different influences he grew up hearing about Islam and she was raised by her grandmother who taught her to do the right thing but be smart about it. This is not only a book about two people who made their parents and families proud but their people in the nation. I love hearing stories like this I like the way Dan burger told the story because a lot of people write books about racial issues and definitely want you to know where they stand Dan Burger tells the fax and the reasons you should support and be proud of people like the Simmonds because anyone doing the right thing cannot be wrong. it’s one thing for people today to achieve what this couple achieved separately and together but to do it at a time when the KKK and Jim Crow rule the day is even more of an achievement. I loved Zara‘s sassy grandmother and her responses to the white men who called her auntie and it made me sad to hear the story about her great grandmother who was treated so terribly I don’t even want to repeat what was said in the book that just turns my stomach and to think someone had to live through that is horrible but either way he’s a story that should be told and I’m glad that Dan Burger told it. If you love American history, African-American history or just plain history you need to read state on freedom by Dan Berger it is a book I highly recommend. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review Alabama and a rock singers biography could but in all three books it’s a story about people being and becoming the potential to be sore for the self and not the status quo that are both expected. Tuskegee is rich an African American thinkers philosophers it created a whole community that supported each other and that is how I see this book is similar. This book is about Zara and in Michael Simmons. She grew up in Tennessee and he grew up in Philadelphia two totally different environment with different influences he grew up hearing about Islam and she was raised by her grandmother who taught her to do the right thing but be smart about it. This is not only a book about two people who made their parents and families proud but their people in the nation. I love hearing stories like this unlock the way Dan burger told the story because a lot of people write books about racial issues and definitely want you to know where they staying then Burger tells the fax and the reasons you should support and be proud of people like the Simmonds because anyone doing the right thing cannot be wrong.
February 12, 2024
I enjoyed this book a lot and learned TONS about the everyday struggles and projects of the Civil Rights Movement. I admit my previous knowledge was basically a highlight reel of the most famous names and actions. Stayed on Freedom introduced me to a lot of people I want to look into further.
This is more of a social history than a touching personal biography - Zoharah and Michael's lives are basically used as a lens through which we can focus on the Black Power movement. Though the author tries to add in "private life" aspects of their love story and family tragedies, it is obvious that he is one person removed from the main characters and events. He's a close family friend to Michael and Zoharah, but the story feels surprisingly impersonal. There were definitely moments (especially in the spiritual development saga and CSA incidents) where I really desperately wanted to know what the protagonists were thinking and feeling, but...it's still a great book! Berger's more distant approach is an effective historian's technique. And I respect Zoharah and Michael for keeping the focus on the work instead of on how they experienced it. It is incredibly brave to agree to be the subject of someone else's book that will be published while you are still alive.
This book would best be used to introduce undergraduate students or interested adults to the Black Power movement in a more interesting, more narrative framework than the typical general textbook description of dates and names.
This is more of a social history than a touching personal biography - Zoharah and Michael's lives are basically used as a lens through which we can focus on the Black Power movement. Though the author tries to add in "private life" aspects of their love story and family tragedies, it is obvious that he is one person removed from the main characters and events. He's a close family friend to Michael and Zoharah, but the story feels surprisingly impersonal. There were definitely moments (especially in the spiritual development saga and CSA incidents) where I really desperately wanted to know what the protagonists were thinking and feeling, but...it's still a great book! Berger's more distant approach is an effective historian's technique. And I respect Zoharah and Michael for keeping the focus on the work instead of on how they experienced it. It is incredibly brave to agree to be the subject of someone else's book that will be published while you are still alive.
This book would best be used to introduce undergraduate students or interested adults to the Black Power movement in a more interesting, more narrative framework than the typical general textbook description of dates and names.
February 19, 2023
An unusual book. Typically when a book begins with alternate-chapter perspectives it’s because the subjects will converge. And they do, but really only briefly. Despite Berger’s efforts to inject love-story elements, the connection between Zoharah and Michael never feels more than a glancing one. A powerful one for sure, which ended up changing both their lives, but not central to the story.
And that’s totally fine, because the love that I picked up on was purely for the Work. For recognizing injustices big and small and struggling to correct them over the course of two long and rich lives. More than two, actually: not all characters get equal billing or book time, but wow, what a cast.
The book was both inspiring and discouraging, frequently on the same page. Berger deals frankly with the problems of real-world human beings, no matter how best-intentioned, working together without conflict. Two people, three, national organizations, our individual motivations make it so damn hard to cooperate! Yet we do—some more than others—and I feel humbled at seeing the strength and perseverance modeled here.
Editing could’ve been better: ambiguous antecedents galore, and a few disjointed sections. Even so, my heartfelt recommendation.
And that’s totally fine, because the love that I picked up on was purely for the Work. For recognizing injustices big and small and struggling to correct them over the course of two long and rich lives. More than two, actually: not all characters get equal billing or book time, but wow, what a cast.
The book was both inspiring and discouraging, frequently on the same page. Berger deals frankly with the problems of real-world human beings, no matter how best-intentioned, working together without conflict. Two people, three, national organizations, our individual motivations make it so damn hard to cooperate! Yet we do—some more than others—and I feel humbled at seeing the strength and perseverance modeled here.
Editing could’ve been better: ambiguous antecedents galore, and a few disjointed sections. Even so, my heartfelt recommendation.
August 9, 2023
I learned a *lot* about certain aspects of "Black Power" movements in the US (and a bit about movements internationally), and I learned a little bit about what it's like to be a real human being involved/leading in those movements, so I'm grateful for the book. I don't think the balance of academic analysis and interpersonal stories worked for me, but I appreciated the effort quite a bit. I think I might have liked either much more personal stuff or more focus on the historical throughlines, but that's likely just a personal preference, and not a real complaint.
There was so much research that went into this--you can easily tell--that I almost felt what had to be left out.
There was so much research that went into this--you can easily tell--that I almost felt what had to be left out.
August 5, 2025
I enjoy reading non-fiction books about Black History as they provide valuable information. This story is about two people, Zoharah (originally named Gwendolyn) and Michael. It looks at their different childhoods, how they met, their marriage, raising a family together, and their eventual separation. The book also highlights what they did individually and together to help the civil rights movement. Overall, it is an essential and informative read.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
December 2, 2022
This book is a family tree in the way of Haley's "Roots." We follow two family lines which combine into a love story--and not just a love story of romantic love. It is a love of people, of self determination, of the family and community they created. I
It does at times, feel a little long, but it is overall worth the time to closely read and analyze. I would see this doing well in group discussions, rather than a solo reading.
It does at times, feel a little long, but it is overall worth the time to closely read and analyze. I would see this doing well in group discussions, rather than a solo reading.
Want to read
May 20, 2023Caught an interview with Zoharah, Michael and Dan on Law and Disorder— looking forward to picking this up. Black liberation and power is most critically a priority simply because freedom is a human right and also appreciated Michael bringing up that no one is free under white supremacy. He described how white supremacy perpetuates a system of aggressors as well as survivors and there’s a freedom in liberating people, particularly those buying into white supremacy, from that binary as well.
May 7, 2023
I love the idea of this book - shining a light on the larger story of Black power movements in the USA through profiling two people involved with them throughout their lives. And there are moments where the book shines mightily. But the book's very ambition necessitates a lot of exposition, and the vocab is sometimes arcane. Still, there's very little like it out there, and well worth the read.
February 22, 2023
I love this book. The journey taken by Gwen AKA Zoharah and Michael is one of wanting to bring freedom to all. It's an excellent read of a civil rights journey of two people we've not heard of before.
April 3, 2023
I read this book for work, and interviewed the author and subjects. It’s masterful, and such an amazing look back at civil rights history through the eyes of student activists. This book deserves way more attention.
Read
September 26, 2022Stay tuned for the Q&A (But not till January 2023).
April 26, 2023
Unbelievably great storytelling. Such a terrific book.
February 7, 2024
DNF. Read 105/302 pages. Very well researched, thorough account of civil rights activism. Would make a good college-level textbook. Not my personal favorite genre or style.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews