Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear

by Aram Goudsouzian

In 1962, James Meredith became a civil rights hero when he enrolled as the first African American student at the University of Mississippi. Four years later, he would make the news again when he reentered Mississippi, on foot. His plan was to walk from Memphis to Jackson, leading a "March Against Fear" that would promote black voter registration and defy the entrenched racism of the region. But on the march's second day, he was shot by a mysterious gunman, a moment captured in a harrowing and now iconic photograph.
What followed was one of the central dramas of the civil rights era. With Meredith in the hospital, the leading figures of the civil rights movement flew to Mississippi to carry on his effort. They quickly found themselves confronting southern law enforcement officials, local activists, and one another. In the span of only three weeks, Martin Luther King, Jr., narrowly escaped a vicious mob attack; protesters were teargassed by state police; Lyndon Johnson refused to intervene; and the charismatic young activist Stokely Carmichael first led the chant that would define a new kind of civil rights Black Power.
Aram Goudsouzian's Down to the Crossroads is the story of the last great march of the King era, and the first great showdown of the turbulent years that followed. Depicting rural demonstrators' courage and the impassioned debates among movement leaders, Goudsouzian reveals the legacy of an event that would both integrate African Americans into the political system and inspire even bolder protests against it. Full of drama and contemporary resonances, this book is civil rights history at its best.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, African American

368 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2014

Reviews

[Bryan Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, civil rights history fans, don't miss this one. This book covers the lesser known Meredith March in Mississippi in 1966. The author marries both scholarship and popular history in an excellent way.

This march is fascinating as it is the last big one of the Civil Rights era and it brings folks like MLK, Stokely Carmichael, Andrew Young, white and black together. However, this march reflects the strains found in the movement: effectiveness of nonviolence and black power. Carmichael used this march to promote black power and its meanings sent some shock waves to the older generation of black and white activists and white supremacists. I remember reading about the nonviolent tension from John Lewis' autobiography. In fact, Lewis lost the SNCC chairmanship to Carmichael.

The part when MS State Police tear-gassed and beat demonstrators in Canton is heart-breaking. It didn't get a whole of photographic coverage like Selma since it was dark and reporters also got gassed, so they were running.

Also, Goudsouzian comments on media's coverage of the march, and how it distorted the meaning of black power. The media also did not have experienced civil rights reporters, so they would easily distort or get something wrong out of inexperience.

Highly recommend.

[Frank Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has my first 2 requirements. It is short (262 pages) and readable. It tells of the Meredith March against fear going from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. Covering the role of all black leaders involves including the iconic James Meredith who is described as a loner, who continues to go his own way. The acerbic Stokely Carmichael and the thoughtful Martin Luther King also receive a great deal of space. The brutality the marchers endured
is described including the attempted murder of Meredith while he was on the march and he still bears the scars and some birdshot is still lodged in his body. This book is a sobering reminder of the violence that this country endured a relatively short time ago.

[Susan Stonesifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating portrait of the next year after Selma. Politics, Vietnam, and the burgeoning tremors of black power are all woven into this tale of James Meredith's march in Mississippi. It begins with him, but after being shot, many leaders of the disparate civil rights groups try to come together to continue it.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and interesting...I especially liked the parts about voter registration!

[Steve B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up in a wonderful bookstore in Oxford, MS....the home of the University of Mississippi and part of the United States civil rights history when James Meredith became the first African American to enroll at Ole Miss in 1962.

Aram Goudsouzian gives an excellent account of the 'Meredith March Against Fear'. James Merediths goal was to March from Memphis to Jackson, MS to promote black voter registration. When Meredith is shot early in the march, the national civil rights organizations become involved. Goudsouzian explains how the organizations, SCLC, CORE, SNCC and others plus their leaders, MLKing, Stokely Carmichael, Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, etc. continue the march despite their philosophical differences in the direction of the civil rights movement. He also chronicles the racism and violence the marchers encountered throughout the march as well as the apathy of the Johnson administration in protecting the march.

All in all an outstanding account of an excellent account in the civil rights history of the United States that does not get the coverage it deserves.

[P · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expansive, detailed, fascinating look at the Meredith March Against Fear, which I had never heard of. The author does a great job of immersing you in the experience. It's truly sad at times, particularly when you realized that things haven't really improved much since then, over half a century ago. I highly recommend this book. 9/10.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well realized telling of one of the tipping point stories of the African American Freedom Movement in the 1960s. The basics of the institutional infighting that led to the emergence of Black Power in the public sphere are well known, but Goudsouzian tells them well and spices the narrative with a gallery of portraits of the participants that fleshes out the ideological battles.

[Joe Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of this most significant events in the civil rights from Memphis To Jackson

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd actually give the book a 3.5 - 3.7.

I'm a stickler for non-fiction books. If they read like op-eds I have a hard time stomaching them. Give me the facts. So I give this book some of the highest praise possible by saying it is incredibly balanced and does a great job of discussing all the sides of a pivotal time in U.S. history.

This book is very well researched and informative. It however reads like a research paper and can be hard to keep track of the various people/flow of events. The meandering nature of the writing is the only thing keeping me from giving it a 5 out of 5.

[Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written piece of history about the civil rights movement with which I wasn't very familiar. On reading the book I learned that perhaps part of the reason for my ignorance was the fact the Commercial Appeal chose not to cover the march, apparently in the continuing hope that the "civil rights mess" would just go away.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This march was just a small part of the Civil Rights movement, but many of the main characters of that time participated. The author was able to pull together all of their stories into what felt like a cohesive overview of the history of that era. It was a good start to my reading for my trip through the South.

[The Advocate]

"Research and interviews on the events and personalities involved in the Meredith March provides a deeper look into the stories of the locals involved in the movement."
Read more here.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly written history of a march that has not received much attention. Details, without prejudice, a hinge point in the civil rights movement. Especially relevant in light of the appalling racial developments of the spring of 2015.