Free At Last: A History of the Civil Rights Movement and Those Who Died in the Struggle (Paperback)

~ (Author), Julian Bond (Introduction) "Imagine being unable to eat or sleep in most restaurants or hotels; being unable to sit where you wanted in a movie theater; having to..." (more)
Key Phrases: Supreme Court, Freedom Riders, White Knights (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. What happened in the South during the 1950s and 1960s still affects our lives today. This insightful volume, introduced by Julian Bond, was developed as part of the "Teaching Tolerance" program at the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a format easily accessible to a wide range of readers, the book provides a brief history of blacks in the U. S., then discusses the civil-rights movement chronologically. Although the first part of the book does not cover any particular incident in depth--there is one five-sentence paragraph about Rosa Parks--the narrative unveils the history clearly and poignantly. Each double-page spread contains captioned black-and-white photos that will have significant impact on the reader. Perhaps the strongest part of the book is the last section, which describes the lives and deaths of 40 people, black and white, who were an integral part of the movement. Although many of those included are well known, others may be new names to most readers. See also Belinda Rochelle's Witnesses to Freedom, Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights, reviewed in this issue. A civil-rights time line and a bibliography are appended. Deborah Abbott --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

From the director of education at the Southern Poverty Law Center, this book's original publisher (1989), a sympathetic account that brings these martyrs vividly to life. After some background on black history, Bullard concentrates on the period between the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing school segregation and King's assassination in 1968, including individual accounts of 40 people who lost their lives in the cause. Some were well-known (Evers; Chaney; Goodman and Schwerner), some not (Virgil Ware, Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn, Oneal Moore); some were activists, some bystanders; some white, but most African-American. Each lucid account, generously illustrated with b&w photos, describes the person's life and relationship to the movement with just the right amount of detail to sustain interest. An excellent photodocumentary resource. Civil-rights timeline; map; bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195094506
• ISBN-13: 978-0195094503
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #437,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Free At Last, June 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Free At Last: A History of the Civil Rights Movement and Those Who Died in the Struggle (Hardcover)

A truly painful story of the civil right movement. The stories of many so far, annonymous heroes and sheroes of the movement. The stories of the victims and their killers. Their amazingly unfair trials and finally the continuation of such in cases like in the four little girls killed in the Birmingham bombing of the 16th Baptist Church. Free At Last gives us a new view of the movement and of how its victims were not just "trouble makers" but innocent people that oppossed segregation non-violently. Also portraying the stories of the innocent ones that were tortured and killed simply for being black, or saying "Bye, baby" like 14-year-old Emmit Till.