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 Using interviews, transcripts of meetings, unpublished position papers, and recently released FBI documents, he reveals how a radical group is subject to enormous, often divisive pressures as it fights the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 61
... later re- marked , " but never before have I been thrown out of jail . 9915 Demonstrations , however , continued . ) Small groups of blacks led by Jones of SNCC and Wyatt T. Walker of SCLC attempted to gain admis- sion to segregated ...
... later re- marked , " but never before have I been thrown out of jail . 9915 Demonstrations , however , continued . ) Small groups of blacks led by Jones of SNCC and Wyatt T. Walker of SCLC attempted to gain admis- sion to segregated ...
Page 160
... later . In sharp contrast to the earlier death of Jimmy Lee Jackson , the killing of Reeb brought an immediate national response . Civil rights supporters from across the nation arrived in Selma for a memorial service . Thousands of ...
... later . In sharp contrast to the earlier death of Jimmy Lee Jackson , the killing of Reeb brought an immediate national response . Civil rights supporters from across the nation arrived in Selma for a memorial service . Thousands of ...
Page 295
... later described his brash act as simply another stage in the black struggles of the 1960s . “ I felt my action as one more rebellion against the vast system of controls over black people and their minds , of which the church and ...
... later described his brash act as simply another stage in the black struggles of the 1960s . “ I felt my action as one more rebellion against the vast system of controls over black people and their minds , of which the church and ...
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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