The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle

by Carson, Clayborne; Garrow, David J.; Gill, Gerald; Harding, Vincent; Hine, Darlene Clark

• ISBN13: 9780140154030
• ISBN10: 0140154035
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780140099812
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-11-01
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• More Book Details

Summary

"An important volume for students and professionals who wish to grasp the basic nature of the Civil Rights Movement and how it changed America in fundamental ways."--Aldon Morris, Northwestern Univ. The Eyes on the Prize Reader brings together the most comprehensive anthology of primary sources available, spanning the entire history of the Civil Rights Movement. "A remarkable collection...Indispensable."--William H. Harris, Texas Southern Univ.

Author Biography

Clayborne Carson is a Stanford University historian. In 1985 Coretta Scott King entrusted him with editing and publishing the papers of her late husband. Carson is the founding director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.

David J. Garrow is an American historian and professor. He was the senior adviser for the award-winning TV series Eyes on the Prize. Gill is also the author of Liberty and Sexuality, a history of the legal struggles surrounding reproductive rights in the United States before the Roe v. Wade decision.

Gerald Gill was one of the most beloved and highly regarded professors in the history of Tufts University. In addition to his work as an educator and historian, he served as a consultant on the award-winning TV series Eyes on the Prize. He was voted Professor of the Year for Massachusetts twice. Gill passed away in 2007.

Vincent Harding was a social activist and historian best known for his work with his personal friend Martin Luther King Jr. He was the co-chairperson of the social unity group Veterans of Hope Project. In the 1960s, he and his wife Rosemarie—both devout Mennonites themselves—cofounded Mennonite House, an interracial voluntary service center in Atlanta. He passed away in 2014.

Darlene Clark Hine is the John A. Hannah Professor of American History at Michigan State University and a leading expert on the intersection of race, class, and gender in American society. Co-editor of Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, she is the author of Hine Sight: Black Women and the Re-Construction of American History, a book of essays. She lives in East Lansing, Michigan.

Table of Contents

Prologue
We the People: The Long Journey Toward a More Perfect Union	1	(227)
Vincent Harding
Awakenings (1954--1956)	35	(26)
Introduction
Vincent Harding
Articles on the Emmett Till Case	37	(4)
``Coming of Age in Mississippi,''	41	(3)
Anne Moody
A Letter from the Women's Political Council to the Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama	44	(1)
Interview with Rosa Parks	45	(2)
``The Movement Gathers Momentum,''	47	(1)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech	48	(3)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``At Holt Street Baptist Church,''	51	(3)
Joe Azbell
Resolution of the Citizens' Mass Meeting, December 5, 1955	54	(2)
``The Violence of Desperate Men,''	56	(1)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``Desegregation at Last,''	57	(4)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fighting Back (1957--1962)	61	(46)
Introduction
Darlene Clark Hine
Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al.	64	(10)
``How Children Learn About Race,''	74	(8)
Kenneth B. Clark
``The Atlanta Declaration,''	82	(1)
``Black Monday: Segregation or Amalgamation...America Has Its Choice,''	83	(12)
Tom P. Brady
Brown v. Board of Education---The Implementation Decision	95	(2)
``The Long Shadow of Little Rock,''	97	(6)
Daisy Bates
A Roundtable Discussion	103	(4)
Ain't Scared of Your Jails (1960--1961)	107	(26)
Introduction
Clayborne Carson
``Is Violence Necessary to Combat Injustice? For the Positive: Williams Says `We Must Fight Back,' ''	110	(2)
Robert F. Williams
``The Social Organization of Non-Violence,''	112	(2)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Interview with Franklin McCain	114	(3)
``An Appeal for Human Rights''	117	(2)
``Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Statement of Purpose''	119	(1)
``Bigger than a Hamburger,''	120	(2)
Ella J. Baker
``A Conference on the Sit-Ins,''	122	(2)
Ted Dienstfrey
``In Pursuit of Freedom,''	124	(3)
William Mahoney
Interview with Robert Zellner	127	(3)
``Eve of Nonviolent Revolution?,''	130	(3)
James M. Lawson, Jr.
No Easy Walk (1961-1963)	133	(33)
Introduction
David J. Garrow
Organizing in Albany, Georgia	138	(2)
Charles Sherrod
Letter from the Albany Movement to the Albany City Commission, January 23, 1962	140	(3)
Interview with Bernice Reagon	143	(3)
Letter from Albany Merchant Leonard Gilberg to Albany Police Chief Laurie Pritchett, July 23, 1962	146	(1)
``Birmingham: People in Motion,''	147	(4)
Wiretap Transcript of Phone Conversation Between Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King, April 15, 1963	151	(2)
``Letter from Birmingham City Jail,''	153	(6)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Birmingham Truce Agreement, May 10, 1963	159	(1)
President John F. Kennedy's Nationally Televised Speech, June 11, 1963	160	(3)
Original Text of Speech to Be Delivered at the Lincoln Memorial	163	(3)
John Lewis
Mississippi: Is This America? (1962--1964)	166	(29)
Introduction
Clayborne Carson
``Mississippi: 1961--1962,''	170	(6)
Robert Moses
``To Praise Our Bridges,''	176	(3)
Fannie Lou Hamer
``Interim Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, April 16, 1963''	179	(1)
``Freedom Summer,''	180	(6)
Sally Belfrage
``Mississippi at Atlantic City,''	186	(4)
Charles M. Sherrod
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Brief Report on Guinea	190	(5)
James Forman
``The Trip,''	195	(9)
John Lewis
Donald Harris
``To Mississippi Youth,''	200	(1)
Malcolm X
``From Protest to Politics: The Future of the Civil Rights Movement,''	201	(3)
Bayard Rustin
Bridge To Freedom (1965)	204	(24)
Introduction
David J. Garrow
``Early Attempts at Betterment,''	208	(1)
Amelia Platts Boynton
``Selma, Alabama,''	209	(2)
Bernard Lafayette
``A Letter from a Selma, Alabama, Jail,''	211	(2)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``Midnight Plane to Alabama: Journey of Conscience,''	213	(4)
George B. Leonard
SNCC-SCLC Relations	217	(4)
James Forman
Personal Letter from Muriel and Art Lewis to Her Mother, Selma, Alabama, March 19, 1965	221	(3)
``Our God Is Marching On!''
Martin Luther King, Jr.	224	(4)
INTERLUDE WE THE PEOPLE: The Struggle Continues	228	(495)
Vincent Harding
The Time Has Come (1964--1966)	244	(44)
Introduction
Clayborne Carson
``Message to the Grass Roots,''	248	(13)
Malcolm X
``Malcolm,''	261	(1)
Sonia Sanchez
``Black Belt Election: New Day A'Coming,''	262	(7)
Stokely Carmichael
Charles V. Hamilton
Lowndes County Freedom Organization Pamphlet	269	(4)
``How the Black Panther Party Was Organized,''	273	(6)
John Hulett
``From Black Consciousness to Black Power,''	279	(3)
Cleveland Sellers
Robert Terrell
``What We Want,''	282	(4)
Stokely Carmichael
``Black Power: A Voice Within,''	286	(2)
Ruth Turner Perot
Two Societies (1965--1968)	288	(45)
Introduction
Darlene Clark Hine
``A Proposal by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for the Development of a Nonviolent Action Movement for the Greater Chicago Area''	291	(9)
Demands Placed on the Door of Chicago City Hall	300	(3)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``Agreement of the Subcommittee to the Conference on Fair Housing Convened by the Chicago Conference on Religion and Race''	303	(7)
Interview with Linda Bryant Hall	310	(6)
``Profiles of Disorder...Detroit''	316	(7)
``A Man's Life,''	323	(10)
Roger Wilkins
Power! (1966--1968)	333	(50)
Introduction
Gerald Gill
``Taking Over,''	338	(3)
Carl B. Stokes
Interview with Thompson J. ``Mike'' Gaines	341	(2)
Interview with Geraldine Williams	343	(2)
``The Founding of the Black Panther Party'' and ``Patrolling,''	345	(3)
Huey P. Newton
``Seize the Time,''	348	(13)
Bobby Seale
Interview with Dolores Torres	361	(1)
``A JHS 271 Teacher Tell It Like He Sees It,''	362	(14)
Charles S. Isaacs
Interview with Karriema Jordan	376	(1)
``Anti-Semitism?---A Statement by the Teachers of Ocean Hill-Brownsville to the People of New York''	377	(6)
The Promised Land(1967--1968)	383	(56)
Introduction
David J. Garrow
``A Time to Break Silence,''	387	(6)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``Conversation with Martin Luther King''	393	(16)
``I See the Promised Land,''	409	(10)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``My Last Letter to Martin,''	419	(7)
Ralph David Abernathy
``On the Case in Resurrection City,''	426	(13)
Charlayne A. Hunter
Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More (1964--1972)	439	(61)
Introduction
Gerald Gill
``...`I'm the Greatest,' a poem	443	(1)
Cassius Clay''
``The Greatest,''	444	(14)
Muhammad Ali
Richard Durham
``Muhammad Ali---The Measure of a Man,'' from Freedomways	458	(2)
Interview with Paula Giddings	460	(2)
An Open Letter Sent to Howard President James M. Nabrit	462	(3)
Interview with Tony Gittens	465	(5)
``The Nature and Needs of the Black University,''	470	(10)
Gerald McWorter
``It's Nation Time,''	480	(2)
Amiri Baraka
``We Must Pave the Way: An Independent Black Political Thrust,''	482	(11)
Richard Hatcher
``National Black Political Agenda. The Gary Declaration: Black Politics at the Crossroads''	493	(7)
A Nation of Law? (1968--1971)	500	(91)
Introduction
Gerald Gill
``Fred Speaks''	504	(5)
Interview with Akua Njere (Deborah Johnson)	509	(8)
``Search and Destroy: A Report by the Commission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and the Police,''	517	(12)
Roy Wilkins
Ramsey Clark
``The FBI's Efforts to Disrupt and Neutralize the Black Panther Party''	529	(10)
``Angela Davis: An Autobiography''	539	(9)
Letter from George Jackson	548	(9)
Attica Prisoners' Demands	557	(3)
``Negotiations and Failure,''	560	(26)
Herman Badillo
Milton Haynes
``The Brothers of Attica,''	586	(5)
Richard X. Clark
The Keys to the Kingdom (1974--1980)	591	(65)
Introduction
Gerald Gill
Statement to the Boston School Committee, June 11, 1963	596	(7)
``Death at an Early Age,''	603	(6)
Jonathan Kozol
Tallulah Morgan et al. v. James W. Hennigan et al.	609	(2)
Commencement Address at Howard University	611	(3)
Lyndon B. Johnson
Inaugural Address	614	(4)
Mayor Maynard Jackson
``Can Atlanta Succeed Where America Has Failed? An Exclusive Atlanta Magazine Interview with Mayor Maynard Jackson as He Completes His First 500 Days in Office''	618	(7)
Amicus Curiae Brief in Regents of University of California v. Allan Bakke	625	(6)
Regents of University of California v. Allan Bakke (The Supreme Court Judgment), June 28, 1978	631	(3)
Regents of University of California v. Allan Bakke (Justice Marshall's Dissent), June 28, 1978	634	(17)
``Whites Say I Must Be on Easy Street,''	651	(5)
Nell Irvin Painter
Back To the Movement (1979--mid-1980s)	656	(67)
Introduction
Vincent Harding
``A Historic Look at Our Neighborhoods,''	663	(3)
``Death Watch,''	666	(16)
Marvin Dunn
``Confronting Racial Isolation in Miami,''	682	(5)
Interview with Edward Gardner	687	(4)
Harold Washington's Announcement of Candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for Mayor of Chicago	691	(3)
``Harold Washington: Uniting Chicago for All People''	694	(4)
Harold Washington's Inaugural Speech	698	(4)
``Of Harold Washington,''	702	(3)
Gwendolyn Brooks
``Address by the Reverend Jesse Jackson,''	705	(5)
Interview with Unita Blackwell	710	(1)
``Platform Presentation Mayor Henry G. Cisneros,''	711	(1)
Address to the National College and University Student Conference, Shen Tong	712	(6)
Address	718	(5)
Nelson Mandela
ABOUT THE GENERAL EDITORS	723	(6)
The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader Publishing Project Staff	725	(2)
Eyes on the Prize: The Film and Publishing Project	727	(2)
Notes on Sources	729	(14)
Index	743