Julian Bond's Time to Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement

by Julian Bond, Pamela Horowitz (Foreword), Vann R. Newkirk II. (Afterword)

A masterclass in the civil rights movement from one of the legendary activists who led it.

Compiled from his original lecture notes, Julian Bond’s Time to Teach brings his invaluable teachings to a new generation of readers and provides a necessary toolkit for today’s activists in the era of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. Julian Bond sought to dismantle the perception of the civil rights movement as a peaceful and respectable protest that quickly garnered widespread support. Through his lectures, Bond detailed the ground-shaking disruption the movement caused, its immense unpopularity at the time, and the bravery of activists (some very young) who chose to disturb order to pursue justice.

Beginning with the movement’s origins in the early twentieth century, Bond tackles key events such as the Montgomery bus boycott, the Little Rock Nine, Freedom Rides, sit-ins, Mississippi voter registration, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act, Freedom Summer, and Selma. He explains the youth activism, community ties, and strategizing required to build strenuous and successful movements. With these firsthand accounts of the civil rights movement and original photos from Danny Lyon, Julian Bond’s Time to Teach makes history come alive.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Race, Politics, United States, Memoir, Biography

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 2021

About the author

Julian Bond was an American civil rights activist, politician and the Chairman of the NAACP 1998-2010.

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

“History is not what people like to hear, Bond believed; it’s what people need to learn to better understand our past and our future.”

“... ordinary women and men proving they can perform extraordinary tasks in the pursuit of freedom. They did then and can do so again.”

Julian Bond was a civil rights activist, politician, head of the NAACP and a professor for two decades. This book is a compilation of his college lectures based on both his extensive research and his personal knowledge. At the end of book, unfortunately not available on the audio edition, is a lengthy annotated bibliography that Professor Bond prepared when he led civil rights tours.

The lectures are eloquent, informative and illustrate the “diverse and often fractious nature of civil rights activism”, how people were changed by the pressures they faced and how the various approaches evolved over time. They are full of fascinating content, including: Black migration, Jim Crow laws, lynchings, the gulf between how the United States presented itself and reality, disruptive protests, Supreme Court decisions, school integration, long-burning problems and catalytic events, the origin stories of numerous activists and civil rights organizations, voter registration, freedom riders, boycotts, civil rights legislation, political compromises and the image of small children singing on their way to jail. Bond was a great teacher.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about the history of the Southern Civil Rights movement. When I took history this subject was never taught and I grew up in Calif so I lived far away from the South. This is why I love to read because I love learning about anything in history. I do have one story I do know about. In the 1960's Las Vegas hotels were segregated. Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack Boys were performing at the Sands and their names were up on the marquee. When they went to check in they told Sammy Davis Jr he could not stay there. Frank Sinatra told them he stays he or we do not perform here. He was very loyal to his friends. This book is very extensive in how the Civil rights movement started and he talks about many things including the Supreme Court, the bus boycott, the march on Washington, and Selma. I was thinking of something else. When my father was in the Air Force in WW11 the Tuskegee Airmen flew cover for his division and they lost many lives protecting these bombing missons. Later on he voluntereed at an Air Musuem and they had an event to celebrate these brave men and I got to meet a few who were still alive. It also talks about Martin Luther King and voting rights. Anyone who wants to learn about this subject will learn a lot from this book.

[Kenneth Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of lectures that Julian Bond used in his courses on the Civil Rights Movement. The book is special in many ways. Julian was a participant in many of the events that are discussed in the book. He was communications director for SNCC and in that role was at the center of so many of the events and strategy that made up the movement.
He includes a section on the philosophical differences between the different organizations that made up the civil rights movement. The book also introduces the reader to many of the lesser people in the movement. They were the frontline people who were so important in the movement,but were not household names.
This book is essential read for anyone interested in the civil rights movement and the people and events that created it.

[Nancy Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of lectures by Julian Bond are conversational and lively, succinct and revealing. For anyone who was just a little bit too young to have followed the civil rights movement, these chapters make for a great introduction to the topic.

What I found most appealing was that he delved into the ideologies of the major players -- it wasn't a single, unified struggle for rights. The origins and the roles of SNCC, Black Power, and SCLC in the fight are all delineated. The fissures between the groups and their goals are also examined, as is the forgotten participation of women. I've been researching the woman suffrage movement and have found the same situation -- a fractured movement with all its shortcomings and shortsightedness that nonetheless managed to reach its goal.

[V Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me first say this particular rating may be bias as I was a fan of Julian Bond as a child but as an adult I learned to channel the fandom with reality just as I have hd to do with all my childhood heroes and heroines although the heroines seem to remain more true to me. I digress, I apologize. It may be a tad bit bias because it is always a "Time to Teach." Once upon a time, I was an avid studier of history because I was seeking something and one thing I do know is history has to be taught from a place of relevance. Let me be honest, I am still seeking something and I turn to the written word to find this on a regular hence the long list of to read items and the huge to be read stacks in my abode.
Within the pages of this book, the readers will learn that Julian learned from someone. he was not born the way he was ultimately portrayed. All of his learning did not come from being near King,jr but there were powerful women who helped him hone his skills. Women like Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker. We often see the males at the center of literature of Civil rights with a few exceptions but we must remember women were and have always been the fuel that power movements.
Unfortunately, Julian Bond is no longer among us in his human form but hopefully his ideals and dedication to the cause of equality and justice will be maintained by future generations.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to finish this book, not because of its length but because I spent a lot of time reflecting on what I read.

Julian Bond wrote his lectures out longhand, and updated them whenever he had new information to add. Thus, his estate was able to assemble them into a history of the civil rights movement -- from Prof. Bond's perspective. He was, after all, one of the leaders.

Reading about the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Council and the Student Non-violence Coordinating Committee from one who was at the table was enlightening. Bond provided new information on the women who were active in the civil rights movement, as well as an insider's perspective on leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and Stokely Carmichael. He showed where the movement sometimes split into factions and the resulting challenges.

The book also includes Prof. Bond's annotated bibliography, for those who wish to learn more.

Honestly, it was a book that I needed to read ... and a whole lot of other people do, too. These challenges are not, in fact, behind BIPOC, but challenges they continue to face daily. With voter suppression and disenfranchisement once again in the news, we all need to take a lesson from the past.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often the events of history resemble sea glass - something sharp and jagged and clear tumbled around by a powerful force until it becomes opaque and smooth, easily handled. The Civil Rights Movement is a perfect example, respectability politics at its finest, the ugliness and truth polished away by white historians who sought to control the narrative and soothe their discomfited brethren. Julian Bond fleshes out in raw detail how the movement was made - because indeed movements are created, they don't just happen - and introduces us to the many who have been pushed aside in favor of the few. (In my own case, I was taught little about the Civil Rights Movement and it was largely distilled down to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Certainly none of the violence that occurred was included in my lessons.) This book should be required reading for people who, as Vann Newkirk says in the afterword, "are in need of shaking".

[Miriam Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lengthy compilation of lectures by Julian Bond (1940-2015), a founding member of SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee), board chairman of the NAACP, and history professor for over twenty years, also serves as a text book for the history of the Southern Civil Rights movement. The comprehensive lectures cover events, individuals, and issues from the early 1900s through the 1960s and the Vietnam era.

You'll learn about legal campaigns, civil protests, and significant individuals including Martin Luther King, John Lewis, among others.

For a review of the performance see AudioFile Magazine http://www.audiofilemagazine.com

[Shannan Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it's a pretty long and extensive book, there is a lot of history. The book consists of lecture notes during the time Mr. Bond was teaching. The book was a little difficult to get through because of the subject nature, but it gives a lot of information, some of it I knew, and some of it I had never heard of before reading this book. It should be on everyone's list when wanting to learn about Black history.

I received this book via Edelweiss, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Jarred Goodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through this work and his experience living during the intriguing times of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, Professor Bond provides an accurate, first-hand account of one of the most important times in American History. I found this to be an excellent read, and it makes me want to read more about him, and other heroes of the Civil Rights Movement.

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way we are taught the Civil Rights movement is almost like we only watch the checkmates in a chess tournament. Bond's college lectures introduce us to all the pieces and show us how, working together through battle after battle, each of the offensives ended the checkmate.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have read the chronology of the Civil Rights movement before I always feel it can never be read enough times. The same struggles continue and accomplishments made get undone and have to be fought for again in an endless cycle that seems to go on forever without cease. The fight continues.

[Katherine Lavelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of Julian Bond's college lectures (but they read as essays). This book provides some interesting insight into the CR movement and has a fantastic annotated bibliography which includes a lot of books about women in the movement.

[Michael Kitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this during a two-week trip to Chattanooga. During my time there, I was able to visit Atlanta, Montgomery, and Birmingham. I was looking for a book to read to enhance these visits, but Taylor Branch's trilogy was too voluminous to undertake. This book was perfect.

[Mrs. Danvers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the civil rights movement by one who was there and who taught about it later so his thoughts are well organized and clear. He was clearly well loved by his students and it's easy to see why.

[Andy Janes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of lectures turned into an incredibly readable book. Probably the best history of the civil rights movement that I've read. The infighting between the various organizations has real ties to today.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Bill]

Very good personal historical account of the civil rights movement

[Kristen Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for those brushing up on their black history.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational, educational, well-researched and including personal insights ___ Bond's edited lectures include new detail and add perspective to the history of the southern civil rights movement.

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best lecture course you could take on the subject while in college.

[Sandra Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed seeing history and specifically the history of the Southern Freedom Struggle through the eyes of someone who was in the thick of it.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible narrative of history we need to know, by a witness.

[Malcolm Mebane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very educational.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a book so much as a collection of Julian Bond's lecture notes organized thematically/chronologically. Makes for a genuinely really interesting read, as Bond's voice really gets to come through. Plus, he includes tons of fascinating anecdotes from his first-hand organizing experience that add color and new life to events/people that you have read about tons of times in other places. There's no real driving narrative for the book, so I don't necessarily recommend if you're looking for a good easy history to read. But each individual chapter is extremely well-researched and well-written! Plus, it's Julian Bond!