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 Using interviews, transcripts of meetings, unpublished position papers, and recently released FBI documents, he reveals how a radical group is subject to enormous, often divisive pressures as it fights the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 11
... violence occurred when protests involved high school students . The first serious instance of violence took place on February 16 in Portsmouth , Virginia , where hundreds of black and white high school stu- ~~ dents fought each other ...
... violence occurred when protests involved high school students . The first serious instance of violence took place on February 16 in Portsmouth , Virginia , where hundreds of black and white high school stu- ~~ dents fought each other ...
Page 92
... violence over the summer unless black demands were met : " We do not want violence and we do not advocate it . But we will not slow down because of the possibility . Violence represents the frustration of the Negro community and the ...
... violence over the summer unless black demands were met : " We do not want violence and we do not advocate it . But we will not slow down because of the possibility . Violence represents the frustration of the Negro community and the ...
Page 248
... violence and decided to depart to avoid being blamed . Ware , Carmi- chael , and Ernest Stephens , an SNCC field secretary , left Nashville early in the morning of April 9 to accompany Carmichael on a speaking engage- ment in Knoxville ...
... violence and decided to depart to avoid being blamed . Ware , Carmi- chael , and Ernest Stephens , an SNCC field secretary , left Nashville early in the morning of April 9 to accompany Carmichael on a speaking engage- ment in Knoxville ...
Other editions - View all
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