Overview
Winner of the Anne B. and James B. McMillan Prize A powerful collection of firsthand stories from the Tuskegee Institute High School Class of 1964—students who came of age in the crucible of the Civil Rights Movement. Their stories uncover the bold choices of their ancestors who chose to stay and help shape the South. Children of the Struggle and the Ancestors Who Stayed, edited by Sonjia Parker Redmond and Beatrice J. Adams, brings together twenty-one deeply personal narratives from members of the Tuskegee Institute High School Class of 1964. These students grew up at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, coming of age during landmark legal battles, community-led voter registration efforts, and the long shadow of Jim Crow. Graduating in the year of the Civil Rights Act and Freedom Summer, these young people had already helped desegregate Alabama schools. They marched from Selma to Montgomery, mourned the assassination of classmate Sammy Younge Jr., and witnessed firsthand the violent resistance to change that defined the era. Rather than join the Great Migration northward, many of them followed the lead of their ancestors and chose to stay—becoming educators, organizers, and civic leaders. Their lives reflect a powerful legacy of resistance and renewal, rooted in a deep sense of place and purpose. This collection preserves their voices and honors the generations of Black families who fought for justice not only through protest, but by staying, building, and believing in the promise of the South.
Full Product Details
Author: Sonjia Parker Redmond ,
Beatrice J. Adams ,
Fred D. Gray ,
Raymond Adams
Publisher: The University of Alabama Press
Imprint: The University of Alabama Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 3.00cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.567kg
ISBN: 9780817362324
ISBN 10: 0817362320
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 16 February 2026
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
""Children of the Struggle and the Ancestors Who Stayed is engaging, surprising, and informative. These narratives of triumph can serve as inspiration to any reader who is committed to bringing about change in the face of injustice."" —Trudier Harris, author of From Mammies to Militants: Domestics in Black American Literature from Charles Chesnutt to Toni Morrison ""This book is a significant contribution and necessary correction to archives of the history of Tuskegee University and to the community that grew around and with it."" —Frances Smith Foster, author of Til Death or Distance Do Us Part: Love and Marriage in African America
""Children of the Struggle and the Ancestors Who Stayed is engaging, surprising, and informative. These narratives of triumph can serve as inspiration to any reader who is committed to bringing about change in the face of injustice."" --Trudier Harris, author of From Mammies to Militants: Domestics in Black American Literature from Charles Chesnutt to Toni Morrison ""This book is a significant contribution and necessary correction to archives of the history of Tuskegee University and to the community that grew around and with it."" --Frances Smith Foster, author of Til Death or Distance Do Us Part: Love and Marriage in African America
Author Information
Sonjia Redmond is professor emerita of Social Work at California State University. Beatrice J. Adams is assistant professor of history at Princeton University.
