Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice (Pivotal Moments in American History)

The saga of the Freedom Rides is an improbable, almost unbelievable story. In the course of six months in 1961, four hundred and fifty Freedom Riders expanded the realm of the possible in American politics, redefining the limits of dissent and setting the stage for the civil rights movement. In this new version of his encyclopedic Freedom Riders , Raymond Arsenault offers a significantly condensed and tautly written account. With characters and plot lines rivaling those of the most imaginative fiction, this is a tale of heroic sacrifice and unexpected triumph. Arsenault recounts how a group of volunteers—blacks and whites—came together to travel from Washington DC through the Deep South, defying Jim Crow laws in buses and terminals and putting their lives on the line for racial justice. News photographers captured the violence in Montgomery, shocking the nation and sparking a crisis in the Kennedy administration. Here are the key players—their fears and courage, their determination and second thoughts, and the agonizing choices they faced as they took on Jim Crow—and triumphed. Winner of the Owsley Prize Publication is timed to coincide with the airing of the American Experience miniseries documenting the Freedom Rides "Arsenault brings vividly to life a defining moment in modern American history." —Eric Foner, The New York Times Book Review "Authoritative, compelling history." —William Grimes, The New York Times "For those interested in understanding 20th-century America, this is an essential book." —Roger Wilkins, Washington Post Book World "Arsenault's record of strategy sessions, church vigils, bloody assaults, mass arrests, political maneuverings and personal anguish captures the mood and the turmoil, the excitement and the confusion of the movement and the time." —Michael Kenney, The Boston Globe This graphic novel is Congressman John Lewis' first-hand account of his lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a climax on the steps of City Hall Recounts how a group of volunteers - blacks and whites - came together to travel from Washington DC through the Deep South, defying Jim Crow laws in buses and terminals and putting their lives on the line for racial justice. News photographers captured the violence in Montgomery, shocking the nation and sparking a crisis in the Kennedy administration. Here are the key players - their fears and courage, their determination and second thoughts, and the agonizing choices they faced as they took on Jim Crow - and triumphed List of Maps Editors' Note Preface 1 You Don't Have To Ride Jim Crow 2 Beside the Weary Road 3 Hallelujah! I'm A-Travelin' 4 Alabama Bound 5 Get on Board, Little Children 6 If You Miss Me From the Back of the Bus 7 Freedom's Coming and It Won't Be Long 8 Make Me a Captive, Lord 9 Ain't Gonna Let No Jail House Turn Me 'Round 10 Woke Up This Morning with My Mind on Freedom 11 Oh, Freedom Epilogue: Glory Bound Appendix: Roster of Freedom Riders Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index This inspirational documentary is about a band of courageous civil-rights activists calling themselves the Freedom Riders. Gaining impressive access to influential figures on both sides of the issue, it chronicles a chapter of American history that stands as an astonishing testament to the accomplishment of youth and what can result from the incredible combination of personal conviction and the courage to organize against all odds