SNCC: The New Abolitionists (Radical 60s) [Paperback]

Howard Zinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0896086798 | ISBN-13: 978-0896086791

Howard Zinn tells the story of one of the most important political groups in American history. SNCC: The New Abolitionists influenced a generation of activists struggling for civil rights and seeking to learn from the successes and failures of those who built the fantastically influential Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. It is considered an indispensable study of the organization, of the 1960s, and of the process of social change. Includes a new introduction by the author.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“SNCC describes in fresh and moving terms the youthful freedom fighters of the South and of the radical `movement' which has contributed so much toward checking the country out of it moral lethargy.”–The Boston Herald --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: South End Press (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896086798
• ISBN-13: 978-0896086791
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #556,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a historian, playwright, and activist. He wrote the classic A People's History of the United States, "a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those ... whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories" (Library Journal). The book, which has sold more than two million copies, has been featured on The Sopranos and Simpsons, and in the film Good Will Hunting. In 2009, History aired The People Speak, an acclaimed documentary co-directed by Zinn, based on A People's History and a companion volume, Voices of a People's History of the United States.

Zinn grew up in Brooklyn in a working-class, immigrant household. At 18 he became a shipyard worker and then flew bomber missions during World War II. These experiences helped shape his opposition to war and passion for history. After attending college under the GI Bill and earning a Ph.D. in history from Columbia, he taught at Spelman, where he became active in the civil rights movement. After being fired by Spelman for his support for student protesters, Zinn became a professor of Political Science at Boston University, were he taught until his retirement in 1988.

Zinn was the author of many books, including an autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, the play Marx in Soho, and Passionate Declarations. He received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anatomy of a Revolution, January 29, 2004

By 

Alan Mills (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sncc, the New Abolitionists. (Paperback)

Following the out break of sit-ins accross the upper south, originated by and participated in largely by Black college students, the students founded the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, in an attempt to bring some order to these spontaneous direct actions.

In 1960, a group of thes students decided to bring democracy to Mississippi and other deep south states. Zinn was with them, and (being a historian, after all) wrote down what he saw. As Zinn admits, this is not a history. It is closer akin to contemporaneous journalism.

What Zinn does is dramatize just how far from democracy and the rule of law Mississippi was in the early 60's (at least for Black people--but it is hard to believe that this form of autocratic government didn't spill over into the "White" government as well.

The Federal Constitution did not apply. State law did not apply. A student standing on the steps of the federal building (of all places) is arrested, beaten to unconsciousness, and sent to hard labor at the notorious Parchman Farm. All for simply watching a line of black citizens attempt to register to vote. All this while the FBI stands by, and does nothing but take notes.

Looking back from the perspective of 40 years on, we tend to glamorize the civil rights movement--the Supreme Court decided Brown, Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus, King gave a speech about his dream, and then Congress solved the problem by passing the Civil Rights Law.

What Zinn makes clear is that while all of this was happening on the national level, the real battle was taking place person by person in the deep south. The heroes were not limited to Dr. King and Rosa Parks, but included hundreds of yuoung people (the members of SNCC) who turned their backs on middle class educations, and literally put their bodies on the line (and all too often in the hospital) to force the power tructure in the South to recognize the rule of law.

The courage and creativity of these young men and women comes through dramatically in Zinn's account--it is inspiring, and terrifying at the same time. Terrifying just how close to tyranny this country was in the early 60's. Inspiring to know that young people had the courage, intelligence, determination, and focus needed to battle that tyranny under the most oppressive conditions this country has known since the civil war. Remember, the horror of Emmit Till was only a few years in the past when these men and women decided to openly challenge the existing power structure.

And best of all, they won. Read the book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very informative history of SNCC's early years, October 9, 2002

By 

rodog63jr (bronx, N.Y.C. N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SNCC: The New Abolitionists (Radical 60s) (Paperback)

The Officers and Members Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) were the foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement. They went into the dangerous areas of the South and attempted to register voters and challenge local segregation ordinances. Howard Zinn documents this in this social history of SNCC. He also gives information on Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis and other prominent SNCC leaders.