In the Shadow of Selma The Continuing Struggle for Civil Rights in the Rural South

by Fleming, Cynthia Griggs

• ISBN13: 9780742508101
• ISBN10: 0742508102
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-23
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Although the events of Selma and Birmingham are burned into the nation's consciousness, little has been written about the civil rights events in the surrounding counties, the vast sections of the rural south. Cynthia Fleming addresses this gap by bringing to light the struggle for equality of the citizens of Wilcox County, Alabama. Although right next door to Selma, their story has been largely ignored. Through the eyes of the residents of the county, Fleming relates a struggle punctuated by cowardice and courage, audacity and timidity, fear and foolishness. And, in the end, the entrenched power structure refused to yield and the county remains segregated to this day.

Author Biography

Cynthia Griggs Fleming is associate professor of history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Forgotten Rural Black Poor	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: You'll Git Dar after While	xiii
Disfranchisement, Despair, and Disillusionment	1	(34)
Onward Christian Soldiers: The Coming of the Missionaries during the Early Years, 1883--1930	35	(32)
New Negroes in the Cotton Field: The Great Depression and Gee's Bend	67	(32)
Making the World Safe for Democracy? What about Wilcox County?	99	(36)
Vote	135	(52)
Ain't Gonna Study War No More: The Struggle to Desegregate Wilcox County's Schools	187	(48)
After the Movement	235	(48)
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same	283	(32)
Notes	315	(22)
Index	337	(12)
About the Author	349