Story of the Civil Rights Freedom Rides in Photographs

Description: Bombs. Clubs. Metal pipes. Severe beatings. Angry segregationists. This is what the Freedom Riders faced when they journeyed into the Deep South to integrate the interstate buses and terminals. Civil rights activists, black and white, understood the dangers of the Freedom Rides. They knew opposition would be fierce, but they did not care. It was worth the risk in the pursuit of African-American rights. Through captivating primary source photographs, author David Aretha examines this fight for equality in the Civil Rights Movement.

Review Quotes: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement in Photographs offers relatively short, fully illustrated introductions to major events of the 1950s and 1960s that furthered the cause of justice for African Americans, particularly in the South. While longer books on the movement (often cited in the appended bibliographies here) offer more complete accounts of what happened, Aretha's clearly written, succinct texts introduce significant individuals, follow major actions chronologically, place events within their social context, and comment on their long-term significance. Quotes from participants are used to good effect. Throughout the books, well-captioned photographs (usually black-and-white news photos) introduce the participants and add you-are-there immediacy to the historical account as it unfolds. Focusing on the pivotal year 1963, Birmingham tells of the violent, sometimes tragic acts that rocked the city and riveted the nation as African Americans carried out peaceful protests. Freedom tells of the Freedom Riders, whose integrated bus rides through the segregated South in 1961 provoked bloody resistance but brought about change. In Little Rock, Aretha tells how nine courageous black students integrated Central High School despite taunts, threats, and intimidation. Selma recalls the dramatic repercussions in Selma when demonstrators marched for voting rights. Well-focused, useful books for students researching the civil rights movement in mid-twentieth-century America., Booklist May 1, 2014