Like a Holy Crusade: Mississippi 1964 -- The Turning of the Civil Rights Movement in America [Paperback]

Nicolaus Mills (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1993

The year 1964 produced a watershed in American race relations. In one of the civil rights movement's most dramatic initiatives, thousands of Northern white college students were recruited to come south that summer in an effort to "break" Mississippi and secure voting rights for its black citizens. Nicolaus Mills traces the history of this Summer Project, including its origins and aftermath, and shows in detail how its consequences involved not only great victories but also violence (the murders of Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman, among other events) and disillusion. His persuasive argument is that the noble quest for racial solidarity turned bitter and divisive in practice, climaxed by the Democratic party's rejection of the Mississippi Freedom Democrats at the 1964 national convention. In the rush of black anger that followed, the gains of the summer were forgotten and Black Power was born—and blacks went their separate way in trying to achieve equality in America. Relations between whites and blacks took a crucial turning which continues powerfully to influence our politics and social well-being today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1964, 1000 white college students were recruited, chiefly by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), to travel to Mississippi and register African Americans to vote. In this taut, well-researched history of the summer project, as it came to be called, Mills ( The Great School Bus Controversy ), drawing on interviews with participants, brings to life the spirit of that idealistic time when, despite tensions between the well-off white volunteers and the poor black project staff, all worked together for social justice. The summer began tragically with the murders of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, and closed with the rejection of the Mississippi Freedom Party by the 1964 Democratic National Convention, effectively ending an integrated SNCC and leading to the Black Power movement.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Mills (American studies, Sarah Lawrence Coll.) has written a readable, compelling account of Mississippi Freedom Summer. He argues convincingly that the summer of 1964 was a turning point in the Civil Rights movement in two senses. First, the combination of interracial cooperation and white violence helped speed the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and create widespread Northern support for the movement. Secondly, and ironically, the Democratic Party's failure to fully seat black Mississippi delegates at the 1964 convention confirmed and exacerbated many black civil rights workers' suspicions of whites. This marked the real beginning of a split between white liberals and black activists. Still, the coalition between blacks and whites that summer serves as an example of racial common ground. An excellent work; highly recommended for all libraries.
- Anthony O. Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566630266
• ISBN-13: 978-1566630269
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,229,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book about the civil rights movement in Mississippi, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Like a Holy Crusade: Mississippi 1964 -- The Turning of the Civil Rights Movement in America (Paperback)

This book gives one a good idea about what the SNCC had to endure during the 1960's. Specifically the Summer Project in 1964 is addressed. I enjoyed reading the book. Finished it in one day. What I miss, however, is what impact the changes in the civil rights status for blacks in Mississippi had on the psychy of the white community. What happened to the racist ideology? How did those people deal with the changes that were finally implemented in the state of Mississippi?