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 Using interviews, transcripts of meetings, unpublished position papers, and recently released FBI documents, he reveals how a radical group is subject to enormous, often divisive pressures as it fights the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
Results 1-3 of 62
Page 47
... residents to take Mississippi's literacy test for voters . Moses , along with the two other SNCC workers , walked door to door during August trying to convince black residents of McComb that " we meant business , that is , that we were ...
... residents to take Mississippi's literacy test for voters . Moses , along with the two other SNCC workers , walked door to door during August trying to convince black residents of McComb that " we meant business , that is , that we were ...
Page 79
... residents , the Mississippi " voter registration effort made slow progress . Constant harassment and intimidation hampered the project . A group of armed whites attacked the voter registration office in Greenwood in August 1962 ...
... residents , the Mississippi " voter registration effort made slow progress . Constant harassment and intimidation hampered the project . A group of armed whites attacked the voter registration office in Greenwood in August 1962 ...
Page 158
... residents had been registered in Dallas County , the site of SNCC's headquarters , and even fewer in the sur- rounding rural areas . Yet staff members feared that King's presence would undermine their long - standing efforts to develop ...
... residents had been registered in Dallas County , the site of SNCC's headquarters , and even fewer in the sur- rounding rural areas . Yet staff members feared that King's presence would undermine their long - standing efforts to develop ...
Other editions - View all
In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s, With a New ... Clayborne Carson Limited preview - 1995 |
Common terms and phrases
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