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 Using interviews, transcripts of meetings, unpublished position papers, and recently released FBI documents, he reveals how a radical group is subject to enormous, often divisive pressures as it fights the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. |
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Page 112
... volunteers were white stu- dents who had participated in civil rights activities in the North . Their middle - class backgrounds and experiences set them apart from most COFO staff members with whom they would work . The fact that the ...
... volunteers were white stu- dents who had participated in civil rights activities in the North . Their middle - class backgrounds and experiences set them apart from most COFO staff members with whom they would work . The fact that the ...
Page 113
... volunteers throughout the summer . One worker , citing the shooting of Travis and the beating of another staff member , told the volunteers that , if they were not scared , they should " get the hell out of here because we don't need ...
... volunteers throughout the summer . One worker , citing the shooting of Travis and the beating of another staff member , told the volunteers that , if they were not scared , they should " get the hell out of here because we don't need ...
Page 116
... volunteers were generally accepted by black Mississippians . Many lived with black families . " Negro people here are happy that we're here , " a volunteer re- ported . " They feed us , take care of us , protect us . " Another volunteer ...
... volunteers were generally accepted by black Mississippians . Many lived with black families . " Negro people here are happy that we're here , " a volunteer re- ported . " They feed us , take care of us , protect us . " Another volunteer ...
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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