In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s, Issue 2Harvard University Press, 1981 - 359 pages With its radical ideology and effective tactics, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was the cutting edge of the civil rights movement during the 1960s. This sympathetic yet even-handed book records for the first time the complete story of SNCC's evolution, of its successes and its difficulties in the ongoing struggle to end white repression. At its birth, SNCC was composed of black college students who shared an ideology of moral radicalism. This ideology, with its emphasis on nonviolence, challenged Southern segregation. SNCC students were the earliest civil rights fighters of the Second Reconstruction. They conducted sit-ins at lunch counters, spearheaded the freedom rides, and organized voter registration, which shook white complacency and awakened black political consciousness. In the process, Carson shows, SNCC changed from a group that endorsed white middle-class values to one that questioned the basic assumptions of liberal ideology and raised the fist for black power. Indeed, SNCC's radical and penetrating analysis of the American power structure reached beyond the black community to help spark wider social protests of the 1960s, such as the anti-Vietnam War movement. Carson's history of SNCC goes behind the scene to determine why the group's ideological evolution was accompanied by bitter power struggles within the organization. Using interviews, transcripts of meetings, unpublished position papers, and recently released FBI documents, he reveals how a radical group is subject to enormous, often divisive pressures as it fights the difficult battle for social change. |
From inside the book
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Page 42
... Forman majored in management and was elected president of the student body and head of a delegation to the 1956 NSA convention . The next year Forman began graduate work in African affairs at Boston University . As a reporter for the ...
... Forman majored in management and was elected president of the student body and head of a delegation to the 1956 NSA convention . The next year Forman began graduate work in African affairs at Boston University . As a reporter for the ...
Page 43
... Forman . In the violence that followed , which Forman later described as a " moment of death , " the protesters were forced to retreat to a police station to save their lives . The police arrested over twenty protesters , including Forman ...
... Forman . In the violence that followed , which Forman later described as a " moment of death , " the protesters were forced to retreat to a police station to save their lives . The police arrested over twenty protesters , including Forman ...
Page 139
... Forman interpreted the resulting failure of the staff to accept his plan as a personal defeat . In an organization that often resented assertive leadership , there were some members who saw the ambi- tious proposal as an attempt by Forman ...
... Forman interpreted the resulting failure of the staff to accept his plan as a personal defeat . In an organization that often resented assertive leadership , there were some members who saw the ambi- tious proposal as an attempt by Forman ...
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In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s, With a New ... Clayborne Carson Limited preview - 1995 |
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accepted action activists activities Albany American arrested Atlanta attempt became become began believed black power Brown called Carmichael charged City civil rights Cleveland Committee conference continued County criticisms delegates demonstrations direct discussions early efforts established experiences expressed federal field force Forman freedom gain goals going House ideas important initial interview involved issue jail John joined June King later leaders leadership Lewis liberal meeting MFDP militancy Mississippi Moses move movement Nashville Negro nonviolent northern organization participation party police political position problems programs Project protest racial radical registration remained Report representatives residents responsible result Revolutionaries role Sellers Sherrod sit-in SNCC staff SNCC workers SNCC's social South southern spring staff members statement struggle summer tion United University urban violence volunteers vote voter Washington World York young