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We Shall Overcome
In words, photos and on two audio CDs, witness the courageous and controversial stories that defined America's civil rights movement
An entire generation of Americans faced the lynching of teenager Emmett Till, the murder of four girls at church, and the denial of basic liberties like voting rights, equal education and political representation. This is their story.
We Shall Overcome is a gripping chronicle of the words and voices of the civil rights movement. From stirring speeches to the voices of hate, this collection brings to life the battle for justice and equality that shook America to its core. We Shall Overcome brings you there--from the schools to the sit-ins, from Little Rock to Selma, from the pulpit to the marches.
American Book Award winning author Herb Boyd tells the dramatic stories of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokely Carmichael, Ella Baker and activist groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Black Panthers.
In words, photos and on two accompanying audio CDs, you'll witness the courageous and controversial stories that defined America's civil rights movement.
"With powerfully superb reporting Herb Boyd slams us back into the most grueling hours of Black America's bloody struggle for Civil Rights."--Gordon Parks, award-winning photographer, writer and filmmaker
"An indispensable window on history. Herb Boyd's dramatic evocation of the legendary civil rights struggle of the 1960s is at once dramatic history and engaging literature."--Paul Robeson, Jr.
"We Shall Overcome captures definitively the drama of the mighty social and spiritual movement that transformed America almost fifty years ago. Vivid, compelling, moving, inspiring, it brings alive the years of struggle and success, strife and hope, that led to the final triumph of justice for black Americans against Jim Crow. This is a gift to be cherished, an enduring reminder of the heroism of those women, men, and children who sacrificed even their lives that all of us might be free."--Arnold Rampersad, author of The Life of Langston Hughes, Days of Grace (with Arthur Ashe), and Jackie Robinson, Cognizant Dean for Humanities and Kimball Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University
"From the murder of Emmett Till to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Herb Boyd takes us on a intellectual and spiritual journey of what it has meant to be an African American resisting in America."--Sonia Sanchez, poet and author of the collections Shake Loose My Skin and Like Singing Coming Off Drums among others
An entire generation of Americans faced the lynching of teenager Emmett Till, the murder of four girls at church, and the denial of basic liberties like voting rights, equal education and political representation. This is their story.
We Shall Overcome is a gripping chronicle of the words and voices of the civil rights movement. From stirring speeches to the voices of hate, this collection brings to life the battle for justice and equality that shook America to its core. We Shall Overcome brings you there--from the schools to the sit-ins, from Little Rock to Selma, from the pulpit to the marches.
American Book Award winning author Herb Boyd tells the dramatic stories of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokely Carmichael, Ella Baker and activist groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Black Panthers.
In words, photos and on two accompanying audio CDs, you'll witness the courageous and controversial stories that defined America's civil rights movement.
"With powerfully superb reporting Herb Boyd slams us back into the most grueling hours of Black America's bloody struggle for Civil Rights."--Gordon Parks, award-winning photographer, writer and filmmaker
"An indispensable window on history. Herb Boyd's dramatic evocation of the legendary civil rights struggle of the 1960s is at once dramatic history and engaging literature."--Paul Robeson, Jr.
"We Shall Overcome captures definitively the drama of the mighty social and spiritual movement that transformed America almost fifty years ago. Vivid, compelling, moving, inspiring, it brings alive the years of struggle and success, strife and hope, that led to the final triumph of justice for black Americans against Jim Crow. This is a gift to be cherished, an enduring reminder of the heroism of those women, men, and children who sacrificed even their lives that all of us might be free."--Arnold Rampersad, author of The Life of Langston Hughes, Days of Grace (with Arthur Ashe), and Jackie Robinson, Cognizant Dean for Humanities and Kimball Professor in the Humanities at Stanford University
"From the murder of Emmett Till to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Herb Boyd takes us on a intellectual and spiritual journey of what it has meant to be an African American resisting in America."--Sonia Sanchez, poet and author of the collections Shake Loose My Skin and Like Singing Coming Off Drums among others
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
263 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Herb Boyd
41 books38 followersHerb Boyd is an awarding-winning American author and journalist who has published 17 books and countless articles for national magazines and newspapers. Brotherman:The Odyssey of Black Men in America: An Anthology (One World/Ballantine, 1995), co-edited with Robert Allen of the Black Scholar journal, won the American Book Award for nonfiction. In 1999, Boyd won three first place awards from the New York Association of Black Journalists for his articles published in the Amsterdam News.
In 2006, Boyd worked with world music composer Yusef Lateef on his autobiography The Gentle Giant, which was published by Morton Books of New Jersey. In 2008, he published Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography of James Baldwin, and is working with filmmaker Keith Beauchamp on several projects. Boyd has been inducted into both the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent and the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame as a journalist.
Along with his writing, Boyd is also the Managing Editor of The Black World Today, one of the leading online publications on the Internet. Boyd, a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, teaches African and African-American History at the College of New Rochelle in the Bronx, and is an adjunct instructor at City College in the Black Studies Department.
In 2006, Boyd worked with world music composer Yusef Lateef on his autobiography The Gentle Giant, which was published by Morton Books of New Jersey. In 2008, he published Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography of James Baldwin, and is working with filmmaker Keith Beauchamp on several projects. Boyd has been inducted into both the Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent and the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame as a journalist.
Along with his writing, Boyd is also the Managing Editor of The Black World Today, one of the leading online publications on the Internet. Boyd, a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, teaches African and African-American History at the College of New Rochelle in the Bronx, and is an adjunct instructor at City College in the Black Studies Department.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 5, 2015
I listened to the two cds that were included with the text, photos and incredible stories of the Civil Rights movement and the struggles in America. Then, I read this large, excellently written chronicle of a nation undergoing turmoil and chaos.
Clearly, expertly written stories outline the beginning of the Civil Rights movement through the continuing struggles of the black people who live in a country where we judge the brutality of other countries, while forgetting our own bloody legacy.
I continue to read many books about the Civil Rights movement, and the more I read, the more I realize that ignorance is not bliss.
When fourteen year old Emmett Till was savagely beaten to death for what might have been a comment or a whistle directed toward a white woman, her bigoted husband took it upon himself to hunt down young, naive in the ways of the south, Emmett, and to set his brutal death as a message to others. The people hoped for justice. Instead, the murderer was judged not guilty and set free.
When Meggar Evers, the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, was brutally gunned down in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, those who wanted justice once again watched as his killer was tried and found not guilty. It would take three trials to finally bring justice for Meggar's family.
When blacks were delegated to the back of the bus, it was Rosa Parks who had had enough and refused to give up her seat to a white person.
This book excellently provides an in depth look at so many struggles faced by the black community as they demanded what was rightfully theirs, ie life with opportunities afforded for all.
The reader learns of the horror of Birmingham, then called "Bombingham, Alabama", when four innocent young girls met their death at the hands of the KKK who planted at least 15 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the front steps of the Sixteenth Street Church. The bombs exploded with so much force that they tore the head from the body of one of the innocent young girls.
It was Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X and a host of others who led those who demanded justice, equality and benefits afforded to whites. So well written, the reader feels as though they were marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to demand voting rights.
As the brave freedom riders rode through the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, through miles and miles of territory, the atmosphere of the south simmered in the hot August sun when the nation watched as powerful water hoses, snarling German Shepherd dogs, and bully clubs were leashed upon black children and adults.
Highly recommended.
Clearly, expertly written stories outline the beginning of the Civil Rights movement through the continuing struggles of the black people who live in a country where we judge the brutality of other countries, while forgetting our own bloody legacy.
I continue to read many books about the Civil Rights movement, and the more I read, the more I realize that ignorance is not bliss.
When fourteen year old Emmett Till was savagely beaten to death for what might have been a comment or a whistle directed toward a white woman, her bigoted husband took it upon himself to hunt down young, naive in the ways of the south, Emmett, and to set his brutal death as a message to others. The people hoped for justice. Instead, the murderer was judged not guilty and set free.
When Meggar Evers, the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, was brutally gunned down in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, those who wanted justice once again watched as his killer was tried and found not guilty. It would take three trials to finally bring justice for Meggar's family.
When blacks were delegated to the back of the bus, it was Rosa Parks who had had enough and refused to give up her seat to a white person.
This book excellently provides an in depth look at so many struggles faced by the black community as they demanded what was rightfully theirs, ie life with opportunities afforded for all.
The reader learns of the horror of Birmingham, then called "Bombingham, Alabama", when four innocent young girls met their death at the hands of the KKK who planted at least 15 sticks of dynamite attached to a timing device beneath the front steps of the Sixteenth Street Church. The bombs exploded with so much force that they tore the head from the body of one of the innocent young girls.
It was Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X and a host of others who led those who demanded justice, equality and benefits afforded to whites. So well written, the reader feels as though they were marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to demand voting rights.
As the brave freedom riders rode through the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, through miles and miles of territory, the atmosphere of the south simmered in the hot August sun when the nation watched as powerful water hoses, snarling German Shepherd dogs, and bully clubs were leashed upon black children and adults.
Highly recommended.
Want to read
July 25, 2008I look forward to reading this book and listening to the CD's. It contains photos and stories I never have seen or read about before covering the Civil Rights Movement. One of the reasons I bought it was for the story of "The Four Little Black Girls", as they are remembered, that were killed from a bomb at the Sixteenth St. Baptist Church.
June 21, 2011
As I was cataloging books I found this and although I listened and only scanned the text, it was a great way to review this American History. I may try to get it out and listen or view it on MLK day or other times just to keep me reminded of how far we have come, and how far we have to go.
November 11, 2013
Another book I thumbed through. I read the photo captions. If this is your area of interest, there is a lot in here, including two CDs of famous civil rights speeches.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews