Origins of the Civil Rights Movements [Paperback]

Aldon D. Morris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 15, 1986 | ISBN-10: 0029221307 | ISBN-13: 978-0029221303 | Edition: 1st Free Press Pbk. Ed

A “valuable, eye-opening work” (The Boston Globe) about the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s.

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Mrs. Rosa Parks, weary after a long day at work, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man…and ignited the explosion that was the civil rights movement in America. In this powerful saga, Morris tells the complete story behind the ten years that transformed America, tracing the essential role of the black community organizations that was the real power behind the civil rights movement. Drawing on interviews with more than fifty key leaders, original documents, and other moving firsthand material, he brings to life the people behind the scenes who led the fight to end segregation, providing a critical new understanding of the dynamics of social change. 

“An important addition to our knowledge of the strategies of social change for all oppressed peoples.” —Reverend Jesse Jackson

“A benchmark study…setting the historical record straight.” —The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st Free Press Pbk. Ed edition (September 15, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0029221307
• ISBN-13: 978-0029221303
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Minority Studies
  • #46 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Civil Rights & Liberties

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Origins of the Civil Rights Movement August 11, 2000

By Jan Derrick

Format:Paperback

Articulate and provocative, Aldon Morris' study of the American Civil Rights Movement is a comprehensive and comprehensible analysis of a strategic struggle for human survival and essential dignity. Emphasizing that African Americans have rarely accepted the subordinate position forced upon them, that the Civil Rights Movement was carefully orchestrated rather than a series of random events, and that women played a critical role in the organization and implementation of the movement, Morris incisively resurrects and dismantles official discourses. In the tradition of John Hope Franklin's "From Slavery to Freedom", Lerone Bennett's "Forced into Glory", and Ivan Van Sertima's "They Came Before Columbus", Morris reconstructs history with a fresh perspective. Morris' extensive use of the interview technique enables the reader to probe the minds of the makers and shakers of the movement, as we hear them speak in their own words. Somewhat academic in its approach, yet eminently readable, "Origins of the Civil Rights Movement" can be understood and appreciated by middle school students, academicians, and history buffs alike. It is a must-read for those interested in a complete understanding of American history in general and of African American history in particular.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very, Very Helpful October 29, 2004

By Puff

Format:Paperback

Aldon Morris writes the history of the Civil Rights Movement as the gradual organization of black communities in the South in response to Jim Crow. Morris' account begins with early protests in North Carolina, Tennessee and other peripheral states that multiplied and culminated in the more well-known actions in Alabama and Georiga. Throughout the account, Morris emphasizes the indigenous nature of the movement - black communities organizing around black institutions (the black church) with their own financial and infrastructural resources.

The research for the project was conducted via interviews with many of the movement's leaders, so Morris is able to give first-hand accounts of the way protests were conducted and of the motivations for organizing in certain ways at certain times. His account is extraordinarily rich and touches on the interplay between the often conflicting personalities of movement leaders. He describes the means and motivation of the adoption of the non-violent protest method and, to a lesser extent, the roles played by women in the movement. He also deals in passing with the ideological treatment of homosexuality by movement leaders.

As an account of how the civil rights movement developed in the South, Morris' book is exceptional. It reads as well as a novel and uses the input of first-hand sources to make its story as much personal as academic, without losing its integrity.

Some have argued that Morris neglects the role of women in the movement and this might be a fair criticism. But inasmuch as he argues that the civil rights movement was organized around and by the leaders of the black church, he justifies his focus on the (male) Baptist minister as a principle leader of movement activities. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand how the Civil Rights Movement was carried out in the United States.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars One Quibble February 7, 2011

By Anthony Flood

Format:Paperback

When Professor Morris wrote this book, he did not have access to the published edition of King's papers. If he did, he would not have created the impression (on page 190) that King was in Miami in September 1959 and January 1960.

The chronology given in Vol. V (p. 59) of the Carson-edited papers, published in 2005, shows that while King did indeed conduct "Interracial Action Institute" training sessions in Miami, he did so on August 31 and September 1, 1960. Carson's chronology for 1959 excludes the possibility that King conducted such sessions in that city in that year. (There is no evidence that King was even in Miami for any part of 1959 or January 1960.)

The sentence "Dr. King assisted in the training of young people in one of the C.O.R.E. workshops," is not false, but its position in that paragraph strongly suggests (what is not true) that King conducted one of the Miami workshops that Professor Morris referred to in his preceding sentence.

For a photo of King conducting one of those C.O.R.E. sessions in Miami, go to [...]