Overview

Protest has always been a catalyst for change. It is the cornerstone of America's own birth. Did not the first immigrants help America take its first steps upon the road to greatness when they long ago protested against the oppression of their native government and established new edicts promoting the ideals of freedom and opportunity? Since the first African slave was forced to board a ship bound for this continent, protest has been a major motif in the African American experience. It was a critical weapon during the raging violence against blacks following the end of Reconstruction, the Jim Crow years, and against the grisly conditions in the ghettoes in the North. Throughout history protest has been used to combat economic and political oppression, racism, discrimination, and exclusion from mainstream America. Icons of African American Protest reveals the extraordinary strength, courage, and sacrifice displayed by individuals for the cause of freedom and civil rights. The 24 leaders showcased here cover a broad spectrum of descriptors-vibrant, tame, intense, aggressive, and diffident-and their politics ran the gamut from conservative to ultra-radical. Nevertheless, whatever techniques, modes, or tactics employed-such as Thurgood Marshall's legal fights in the court room, Dr. King's reliance on nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action, and Huey P. Newton's advocacy for armed self-defense-they were all, in their time, radicals who strove to eradicate racism and the climate of exclusion. This two-volume reference provides both students and general readers in-depth coverage of contemporary voices of protest, supplemented by sidebars on major turning points, freedom songs, and important symbols, such as the clenched fist of the Black Power Movement. Also included are a timeline of key events, historical documents, a glossary, and a thorough bibliography of print and electronic resources to encourage further research.

Full Product Details

9780313340628

Table of Contents

Reviews

<p> Entries are clearly written and capture in a popular, often candid manner what the men and women overcame in their personal and professional lives to achieve a better nation, including difficult home situations, discrimination, injustice, and other obstacles to success. . . . The set will be useful in public and academic libraries, for both students and general readers. - <p>Booklist

Entries are clearly written and capture in a popular, often candid manner what the men and women overcame in their personal and professional lives to achieve a better nation, including difficult home situations, discrimination, injustice, and other obstacles to success. . . . The set will be useful in public and academic libraries, for both students and general readers. - Booklist

This two-volume set profiles 24 African Americans prominent in the history of civil rights in the United States. Each biography explores the life of the subject over the course of 20 pages or so, placing the person's involvement in civil rights struggles within the context of their own life courses and within the context of the broader sweep of history. Each entry includes a black and white photographic portrait and a guide to further resources. - Reference & Research Book News The essays are well written ... Recommended. - Choice Entries are clearly written and capture in a popular, often candid manner what the men and women overcame in their personal and professional lives to achieve a better nation, including difficult home situations, discrimination, injustice, and other obstacles to success... The set will be useful in public and academic libraries, for both students and general readers. - Booklist Knight brings to life the work, thoughts, and contributions of 24 trailblazing activists. Their life stories, told in great detail, provide readers with new insight on the achievements and experiences of each icon. This work, aimed primarily at high school students and general readers, would be a good addition to public and high school library collections lacking book length biographies on these civil rights activists. Lower-level undergraduate students may find this work of value as a basic introduction to important figures of the twentieth-century civil rights movement. - ARBA

Author Information

Gladys Knight has written extensively on individuals, issues, and topics relevant to African American history. She has contributed to numerous Greenwood publications, including The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature (2005), The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore (2005), Encyclopedia of the Reconstruction Era (2006), Encyclopedia of American Race Riots (2006), and the forthcoming Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture.

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