There Comes a Time: The Struggle for Civil Rights

by Milton Meltzer

Historian, scholar, and award-winning author Milton Meltzer outlines the struggle of African Americans for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, "starting with the landing of the first slave ships on colonial shores. How did over 300 years of slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow laws come to an end in the civil rights movement of the 1960s? What was achieved, and what are the problems still facing us today?

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Milton Meltzer wrote 110 books, five of which were nominated for the National Book Award. With Langston Hughes, he co-authored A Pictorial History of Black Americans, now in its sixth edition. He received the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to children's literature, the 1986 Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award, and the 2000 Regina Medal. He died in New York City of esophageal cancer at age 94.

Reviews

[Addy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This was a really great book. It really opens your eyes to the fact that this really was a huge problem. Five stars from me.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow. I thought I'd studied the plight of African-Americans enough, and was reading this just to see what Meltzer would have to say to youth (because I appreciated his In Their Own Words: A History of the American Negro 1619-1865 so very much [this one has some of 'their own words' but is mostly narrative]). I wish more of his books were still in libraries.

But it turns out that this isn't just for youth, and that I learned quite a bit, and that it is thorough & concise, engaging & disturbing. Children need to learn this, but maybe some of the pictures are too intense for the younger ones; you judge for your kids (or better yet, read it first or with them).

I wish I could find more by the editor/author. This, from 2001, seems to be at least one of his last (most recent) books and is, arguably, a crowning achievement. He was definitely concerned about the future and wrote the last chapter to his readers, asking us to help make MLK's dreams come true.

One thing he made clear are the nuances. For example, it's true that white southern plantation owners did own the majority of the slaves, however, "By the 18th century, New England could boast that it controlled the bulk of the slave trade in the New World."

And later, Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy, Johnson, all wanted to give African American all their due civil rights, liberties, and responsibilities, but all had to negotiate, compromise, and make concessions to the white leaders and voters in order to stay in office long enough to get anything at all done.

It took a year of debate for Johnson's Civil Rights Act of 1964 to get passed, for example. And now Georgia is again playing games to disenfranchise African-American voters. And gerrymandering is ridiculous - just look at the outline of any city limits or congressional district you like, for example.

One thing I didn't learn in school, because we were so focused on the misfortunes of the slaves, is that they weren't just victims. Meltzer points out: "Even the powerless slaves spoke out, petitioning for the freedom they claimed was theirs by natural right. They're refusal to be enslaved begin very early, when some revolted aboard ship, while others committed suicide by leaping into the sea. There were frequent efforts to rebel, under pain of mutilation or death, throughout the 200 years of enslavement in North America. Sometimes there were organized insurrections."

"A military edict, [the Emancipation Proclamation] freed slaves only in those parts of the South still in rebellion. That meant millions of black people in the South and border states would remain enslaved until the final collapse of the confederacy."

"Between 1946 and 1967, the federal government spent $904 billion on military power against $96 billion on social needs such as education, health, and welfare."

In 1963, "Again, attack dogs were loosed against fleeing boys and girls."

Meltzer offers, as part of his conclusion, this exhortation: "... democracy is not what he have: IT IS WHAT WE DO" (his emphasis).

If you're interested in this book, or anything about civil rights, don't miss MLK's Letter from the Birmingham Jail. I'm going to have to reread it.

[Maggie Delap · Rating 4 out of 5]

There Comes a Time by Milton Meltzer is an informational and eye-opening timeline of the civil rights movement. It reviewed the key events of the civil rights movement in America during the late 1900s. I strongly recommend this book to people interested in learning about America’s history and the fight for civil rights. There Comes a Time was an astonishing book that kept me engaged in the topic and it was hard to put down. The language used is casual and easy to understand, though There Comes a Time dealt with serious issues. The photos present in the book were very moving and related to the topic at hand. Milton Meltzer thoroughly portrayed the timeline and events of the civil rights movement in detail, many of the events he described I was unaware of until now. He really put into perspective the struggles that African Americans went through every day during their fight for freedom. This is an excellent book for readers interested in the history of civil rights and who enjoy nonfiction.

[Jeremy T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really don't have any complaints about this book. It's a very educational book about the struggle for civil rights and really anyone could read it, it's an easy to read and Mr. Milton Meltzer doesn't hold back any details. Shamefully, I do not know much about the Civil Rights movement, I really only heard of it and went over the basics. But Meltzer does a wonderful job of saying the truth. There are pictures and even ads from 1780 in the book and it really gives you a good understanding and real sympathy of the civil rights movement.

[Suzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primary sources included for the civil rights movement

[Sam B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It essentially reads like a timeline of the Civil Rights movement. Which is ok I guess, I was just hoping for more insight/reflection/etc. I did enjoy it, but if you told me it was a history report by a high school junior I would believe it. Not much else to say I guess. It's an incredibly straight forward, basic book.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a young adult book that I checked out from the library. It tells, in plain language, about the civil rights movement and the sacrifices made by so many people to bring about change. I learned a lot by reading it. It clarified some of my questions about the era.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was written with a very liberal view, but was very good at showing the lack of power that African American people had. The pictures were very effective at showing the hate that was so prevalent.

[Teri]

This might be a good book to introduce the topic of civil right's movement to students. Then I could introduce some of the other book's (with individual's stories) to the students.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Racial Prejudice Unit

[Tiffany Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great nonfiction book to include in a middle-school social studies curriculum.