Customer Reviews

Hope and History: Why We Must Share the Story of the Movement

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

this collection of essays on the civil rights/black power struggle for black freedom is written by a man who participated in those struggles. each essay offers lessons for classes and groups who wish to understand past struggles. each essay launches further study of u.s. history, with particular emphasis on the role of african americans in pushing all of us toward democracy and justice.

for its historical eyewitness testimony, spiritual integrity, and unfailing belief in the human dignity of all of us, this is a book i read, reread, and read again. i am thankful for it.

Hope and History is a compilation of essays and letters written by noted historian Vincent Harding. These essays were written specifically for teachers; as teachers are, as Harding notes, "...the nurturers, the encouragers of all the dreams." (p. 157)

Harding, leading consultant on and champion of the popular Civil Rights series, `Eyes on The Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965', draws on `Eyes...' in almost every essay. Hope and History reads as if it was a complementary text to the series of videos. Hope and History 2nd edition also attempts to remain current with a letter to President Barack Obama (Chapter 13) and related Obama references appearing periodically throughout the text; commentary intended to bridge the past with the present. For example:

"Forty years later the impossible became president moving through the doors that Fannie Lou Hamer had opened, Shirley Chisholm challenged, and Jesse Jackson expanded." (p.100)

`Eyes on the Prize' and Hope and History should always be a part of the African-American experience/learning experience. These, as well as Harding's other contributions, truly make him, to use his words, an Artisan of Democracy.

In the past fifty years America has went from not even allowing black people in certain restaurants to electing the first black President. "Hope and History: Why We Must Share the Story of the Movement" tells the story of the civil rights movement of the past half century told through the eyes of Professor Vincent Harding, a man who has worked much with studying the movement. A great stride, Harding does well in painting the picture of a rapidly changing world. "Hope and History: Why We Must Share the Story of the Movement" is a choice addition to any history of black studies collection.