NAACP youth and the fight for black freedom, 1936-1965 / Thomas L. Bynum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bynum, Thomas L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American youth--Political activity--History--20th century.

African American youth.

African American college students--Political activity--History--20th century.

African American college students.

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

African Americans.

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

Civil rights movements.

Youth movements--United States--History--20th century.

Youth movements.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People--History--20th century.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Historical studies of black youth activism have until now focusedalmost exclusively on the activities of the Congress of RacialEquality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent CoordinatingCommittee (SNCC). However, the NAACP youth councils andcollege chapters predate both of those organizations. They initiatedgrassroots organizing efforts and nonviolent direct-action tactics asearly as the 1930s and, in doing so, made significant contributionsto the struggle for racial equality in the United States. This deeply researched book breaks new ground in animportant and compelling area of study. Thomas Bynum carefullyexamines the activism of the NAACP youth and effectively refutesthe perception of the NAACP as working strictly through thecourts. His research illuminates the many direct-action activitiesundertaken by the young people of the NAACP - activities thathelped precipitate the breakdown of racial discrimination andsegregation in America. Beginning with the formal organizationof the NAACP youth movement under Juanita Jackson, theauthor traces the group's activities from their early anti-lynchingdemonstrations through their post-World War II "withholdingpatronage" campaigns to their participation in the sit-in protests ofthe 1960s. He also explores the evolution of the youth councils andcollege chapters, including their sometime rocky relationship withthe national office, and shows how these groups actually provideda framework for the emergence of youth activism within COREand SNCC. The author provides a comprehensive account of thegenerational struggle for racial equality, capturing the successes, failures, and challenges the NAACP youth groups experienced atthe national, state, and local levels. He firmly establishes the vitalrole they played in the history of the civil rights movement in theUnited States and in the burgeoning tradition of youth activism inthe postwar decades.

Contents:

"Ours is an immediate task" : Juanita Jackson and the origins of the NAACP youth movement

To "keep our vision unclouded" : war and democracy

To finish the fight : "freedom from fear!"

"With all deliberate speed" : school desegregation, Emmett Till, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

"More than a hamburger and a cup of coffee" : NAACP youth and the 1960s freedom struggle

"And if not now, when?" : securing our freedom.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781621901532

162190153X

9781572339828

1572339829

OCLC:

852899341