The Making of Black Revolutionaries

by James Forman

This eloquent and provocative autobiography, originally published in 1972, records a day by day, sometimes hour by hour, compassionate account of the events that took place in the streets, meetings, churches, jails, and in people's hearts and minds in the 1960s civil rights movement.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, Memoir, Politics, Social Justice, Historical

603 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

James Forman (October 4, 1928 – January 10, 2005) was a prominent African-American leader in the civil rights movement. He was active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Black Panther Party, and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers. As the executive secretary of SNCC from 1961 to 1966, Forman played a significant role in the freedom rides, the Albany movement, the Birmingham campaign, and the Selma to Montgomery marches.

Reviews

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me well over a year to finish this small print over 500 page monster. Riddled with primary sources like depositions, speeches and reports that are in even tinier print, this book is a real commitment. Which is fitting because James Forman was one committed Black Revolutionary. In the usual Civil Rights histories and books about SNCC, Forman has a reputation for discipline and centralism. You'll even see him described as Stalinist, usually by liberals though. He is often depicted as the arch-enemy of the "Freedom High" wing of SNCC, a derogatory term for SNCC people who ignored collective decisions and argued endlessly at the freedom-is-an-endless-meeting meetings. And on the other side, for the most nationalist of the Black Power advocates, Forman's socialism and class-analysis was too "white."

Hold up, wait a minute. James Forman was a member of SNCC for years and years, he participated in all those anarchic meetings, he went along with the decisions, he compromised his own ideologies and beliefs to work with the religious types, nonviolence, the freedom-high faction and he was all for Black Power. So there's a lot to be learned here, not just from Forman's own analysis of what worked and what didn't but also just from his historian trained rendering of the events he participated in. The book is from 1973ish and so the later chapters about the Black Panthers and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers are still very fresh.

One of the most important lessons in here, I think, is to look after your own health, even when the Revolution feels urgent. Forman describes with regret missing important turning points because he'd ignored health warnings to participate in less important actions.

I learned a truck load from this book, and I've worked my way through a few SNCC books, but again, this is not an introductory easy-to-read thing like John Lewis's memoir. This is an inch by inch, painful and critical accounting of the decade that started with "We Shall Overcome" and ended with "Off the Pig."

[Alicia Garza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. Some self aggrandizing here and lots of stories of male heroes, but nevertheless a great read.

[Benjamin Lettuce Treuhaft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with my sister Dinky, married to Forman, mother of James and Chaka Forman (two of the best people ever born): It's one of the best books ever written. For those of us who missed the movement for whatever reason (born too late, busy with other projects, too racist to care) it puts you right back in 1963 and it's almost like you get a second chance.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and compelling. Absolutely worth the read to get a real idea of the civil rights movement from its infancy to a true force.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing first-hand account of the making of one black revolutionary as well as the development and structure of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, full of criticisms for the purpose of allowing us all to grow from mistakes. Detailed accounts of freedom riders events, marches for the right to vote, organizing people in the south, and police repression. Also discusses relationships to MLK Jr. and other leaders and the contrast between generations, religious vs. non-religious, and those who dogmatically hold onto ideas of non-violence vs. those who saw the need for self-defense.

[kripsoo]

The Making of Black Revolutionaries is a fantastic read and an invaluable resource for all those who want to make history in America whether struggling against racism or engaging in any other freedom fight Jim Forman gripping first-hand account of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC) includes testimony from other participants and excerpts from documents of the time

[Lai-san · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating close-up account of SNCC, but I wish there had been a firmer hand in editing it.