The American Civil Rights Movement: Readings and Interpretations

This new reader comprises an extensive collection of primary and secondary documents of the American Civil Rights movement. These documents are complemented by analytical and interpretive essays by the editor, setting these documents in their historical, social, and political context. The seeds for the modern Civil Rights Movement were planted nearly a century ago within the black Baptist Church, labor unions, the black press, and organizations like the NAACP and the SNYC. Each of the seven sections of this book present a carefully chosen selection of newspaper, magazine, and journal articles, letters, speeches, reports, and legal documents, all chronicling the one aspect of the movement for black rights from the earliest days of post-Civil War segregation to the present. The works of eminent scholars, historians, legislators, and jurists alternate with the voices of movement leaders and followers, black politicians, black entertainers, and average citizens, all blending together to tell the story of struggle, failures, and successes on the road to equality for Black Americans.