If you want to know what the civil rights struggle of the 60s was like, away from the glamour and glitter of the national media,read The Free Men. It captures as much of that struggle as can be captured by a book, especially...
---The day-by-day organizing, planning, leading, protesting, jailing, sentencing, name-calling and punishing of the student demonstrators / participants;
---The fearful wondering of what might be coming next from rednecks with guns, and bigoted, authoritarian, Bible-belting judges and officials;
---A close-up look at the actual process, and price, of social change, where deeply-held racist beliefs are practiced;
---The crisis of conscience faced by a citadel of southern progressevism, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and its host community, Chapel Hill.
---And so much more.
I know, because I was there.
As co-editor (with David Ethridge) during the peak years of the protest, 1963-64, I personally covered many of the meetings and events which author John Ehle writes about so honestly, completely, and courageously. In fact, I was nearly put into jail myself, for contempt, by a hanging judge sent in from out of town to quash the movement. But for a brave young lawyer named Barry Winston, I might have been.
From the perspective of today, 2013 -- 50 years later -- I look back on those events as a sincere, courageous attempt at an eminently-justified, peaceful, small-town revolution. Although the effort was ultimately defeated, and has remained largely anonymous, this book insures that its many heroes -- The Free Men -- and villains, have not been forgotten. Nor have its many important lessons.
Most importantly of all, thanks to author John Ehle, it's a mighty good read. <gfbmpa@comcast.net>
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