Civil Rights Movement: Major Personalities

The Autobiography of Malcolm X defines American culture and the African American struggle for social and economic equality that has now become a battle for survival. Malcolm's fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.

The most famous collection of Garvey's speeches and essays in a special centennial edition.

Introduced in a reflective essay written by the acclaimed Mississippi author Willie Morris, this account of Evers's professional and family life will cause readers to ponder how his tragic martyrdom quickened the pace of justice for black people while withholding justice from him for thirty years. One speculates that, had he lived, he might have attained even more for the equality of African Americans in national life.

These writings range from Medgar’s monthly reports to the NAACP to his correspondence with luminaries of the time such as Robert Carter, General Counsel for the NAACP in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Still, most moving of all, is the preface written by Myrlie Evers. (Note: You will have to enter your MultiPass credentials to access these off-campus.)

In this sensitive inquiry, historian Stephen J. Whitfield probes Till's death; its ideological roots; the potent myths concerning race, sexuality, and violence; and the incident's enduring effects on American national life.

A gripping reexamination of the abduction and murder that galvanized the civil rights movement. (Note: You will have to enter your MultiPass credentials to access these off-campus.)