The Civil Rights Movement: Revised Edition

Seminar Studies in History

by Bruce Dierenfield

The civil rights movement was arguably the most important reform in American history. This book recounts the extraordinary and often bloody story of how tens of thousands of ordinary African-Americans overcame long odds to dethrone segregation, to exercise the right to vote and to improve their economic standing. Organized in a clear chronological fashion, the book shows how concerted pressure in a variety of forms ultimately carried the day in realizing a more just society for African- Americans. It will provide students of American history with an invaluable, comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2004

Reviews

[☮ morgan ☮]

read for class

[Roberta Kirkland · Rating 2 out of 5]

A narrow view on a section of history with bits of insight

This author, like many white authors of Black history, seem tone deaf when writing about Black history. Also he shows his bias among certain aspects of history and historical groups. He makes one mention of the Deacons of Defense and Justice, but doesn't explain their role in the Civil Rights Movement. He refers to Malcolm X as an unthinking zombie before his break with the Nation of Islam; he suggests Black men guilted white women into sexual acts to prove they weren't "racist white bitc***;" he suggests Black southerners were scared unless northern civil rights workers were there despite it was local gun-toting Blacks who kept Freedom Houses protected from night riders. The tone of this book cringe worthy and irritating, but it gives a fair amount historical insight.

[Christopher G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce J. Dierenfield is a Professor Emeritus of History at Canisius College in New York. He was educated at the University of Helsinki, the Universities of Cologne and Bonn, and the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. He has written several notable books including The Battle over School Prayer: How Engel v. Vitale Changed America in 2007 and is the coauthor of Disability Rights and Religious Liberty in Education: The Story Behind Zobrest v. Catalina Foothillls School District in 2020.

The Civil Rights Movement details the horrific and savage treatment of African Americans in the Jim Crow South. The violent stories display just how necessary the Civil Rights movement was and continues to be today. I appreciated Dierenfield’s use of concise definitions in the margins that added value to each story. Moving forward to heroes like Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists and their take on how to remedy the solution gave a well rounded overview of the origins of the movement.

The images used in the book are often shocking but important to provide evidence that many white people delighted in the brutality of blacks. As much as we like to think that this behavior wouldn’t be replicated today, without the Civil Rights Movement, it very well could have. After the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King the Civil Rights Movement made little progress and dissipated. I was disappointed that Dierenfield didn’t explore the FBI’s involvement in Dr. King’s death. Even as other figures in the movement emerged, none had the power that Dr. King’s nonviolent work had.

In conclusion, I appreciate this very abridged but well-rounded account of the Civil Rights Movement. Dierenfield’s inclusion of a timeline, list of participants, maps of each incident, and court cases is inspired, and I found myself learning more from those resources than the main text.

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps this says more about me than the book, but I found it quite informative. It's relatively easy to get through - the author does know how to tell a story and the occasional commentary is quite clever. It seems to me that some topics here got more attention than others. Still, as an introductory reading, the book does its job well

[John Peel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've known the bare bones facts on this issue most of my life, but here the author puts them into perspective. Interesting, informative and heartbreaking, the struggle for racial equality shows us people behaving in evil ways, and the struggle to overcome it. Compelling reading.

[Mell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the first person to rate this book (lol) I'm happy to give it 4 stars. Some word choices were questionable but not problematic. I wish the author used more dates to make the chronology clearer but all in all a very educational read.