The Ticket to Freedom: The NAACP and the Struggle for Black Political Integration

New Perspectives on the History of the South

by Manfred Berg

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the United States’ largest and oldest civil rights organization. After many years of neglect and faultfinding by contemporary activists, historians, and the media, Manfred Berg restores the NAACP to its rightful place at the heart of the civil rights movement. Berg reveals the group’s eminently political character as he assesses both its historical achievements and its failures. He suggests that while the NAACP did make significant gains in furthering the progress of America’s black citizens at the grassroots level, its national agenda should not be discounted. Berg challenges criticisms of recent years that the NAACP’s goals and methods were half-hearted, ineffective, and irrelevant and reveals a resourceful, dynamic, and politically astute organization that has done much to open up the electoral process to greater black participation.

376 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2005

Reviews

[Rebecca Berus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ticket to Freedom offers a thoughtful and deeply researched history of the NAACP’s struggle for Black political integration. Manfred Berg highlights the organization’s voter-registration campaigns, political strategies, legal efforts, and complicated role within the broader civil rights movement. I especially appreciated the attention to both its achievements and limitations. An insightful read for anyone interested in African American history, voting rights, civil rights, political activism, and American democracy.