Civil rights crossroads : nation, community, and the Black freedom struggle / Steven F. Lawson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lawson, Steven F., 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--Civil rights--History--20th century.

African Americans.

African Americans--Civil rights.

History.

Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.

Civil rights movements.

African Americans--Suffrage.

United States.

African Americans--Suffrage--History--20th century.

United States--Race relations.

Race relations.

Physical Description:

xiii, 384 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, [2003]

Summary:

The civil rights movement, observes historian Steven F. Lawson, was the intersection of two parallel tracks -- federal initiative and grassroots activism. No other scholar of African American history has traced the influence of national and local activism with such insight or illuminated the contributions of so many civil rights activists, familiar and unfamiliar. Civil Rights Crossroads brings together Lawson's most important writings, updated to offer fresh perspectives and penetrating insights into the continuing black struggle for equality in America. Lawson's writings challenge many prevailing views about racial politics. He argues that the civil rights movement did not end in 1965, as is customarily accepted. He offers a history of movements that were organized politically and legally at the local and national levels. Examining the period following the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Lawson connects the civil rights movement to current debates on affirmative action and the expansion of black power. He asserts that the actions of lawyers, lobbyists and civil rights bureaucrats were vital as presidential administrations grew increasingly conservative.

For those following a nation-centered model of civil rights history, Lawson's examination of community activism has proved provocative and influential. Several essays in this collection focus on how the civil rights movement functioned in several southern town-ships. For example, Lawson argues that Florida was not a progressive exception to "Dixie" as so many claim; rather, the Florida story shows how white moderates attempted to contain violence against blacks in order to control the shape and pace of racial equality. Other essoys address the contributions of women leaders such as Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker, the attempts made by President Lyndon B. Johnson to manage the course of black militancy, the influence of the civil rights movement on American culture, and other compelling topics. Civil Rights Crossroads is the culmination of Lawson's twenty-five years at the fore-front of race relations studies -- a powerful look at the history of the civil rights movement and a forecast of the challenges still to come.

Contents:

Studying the Civil Rights Movement. Freedom then, freedom now

Lyndon B. Johnson and the Black freedom struggle. Exploring Johnson's civil rights policy ; The improbable emancipator ; Mixing moderation with militancy

Civil rights and Black politics. From boycotts to ballots ; Preserving the second reconstruction ; The unmaking of the second reconstruction

From the bottom up. Florida's little Scottsboro ; Investigations and massive resistance ; From sit-in to race riot

New paths of exploration. Rock 'n' roll, the payola scandal, and the political culture of civil rights ; Women, civil rights, and black liberation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [354]-363) and index.

ISBN:

0813122872

OCLC:

52559052