Freedom: A Photographic History of the African American Struggle

by Manning Marable, Leith Mullings, Sophie Spencer-Wood (Editor)

Overview

While the civil rights movement in America is officially recognized as the period between 1954 and 1968 (‘beginning’ on May 17, 1954 when the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools, through to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968), the struggle actually began long before that. Slavery in the American colonies was protested against as far back as the seventeenth century, though it was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the resistance built momentum.

This photographic journey of the African American struggle for equality begins with abolitionists like Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery in 1849 and then helped others to freedom, and continues to the present. Freedom chronicles the battle to eradicate slavery through the Civil War (1861-5) and, once slavery was officially outlawed, it traces the evolution of its dual legacy: segregation and racism. The struggle for equal rights involves small acts of personal bravery and sweeping proclamations of legal and moral import; it is the stuff of economics, war, tradition, despair, politics, hope, activism, vigilance and violence. It engages black and white, heroes and the unheralded, public acts of protest and private moments of introspection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780714845173
Publisher:	Phaidon Press
Publication date:	04/01/2005
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	9.92(w) x 11.28(h) x 1.98(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

Editorial Reviews

Slave resistance and rebellion is as old as slavery itself. As early as the 17th century, captured Africans sought to free themselves from their mercantile captors. This mammoth, sumptuously illustrated volume chronicles and celebrates the heroic acts of these involuntary immigrants.

bn.com

Freedom breaks new ground as a complete and current photo-history of the African American struggle. It derives much of its success from the effective selection and visual placement of historical photographs, which are taken from numerous archives around the country and beyond. The full- and half-page images (both color and black-and-white) portray noted events, such as the sit-in demonstrations and Civil Rights marches, as well as important African Americans and relevant everyday scenes. Marable (director, Inst. for Research in African-American Studies, Columbia Univ.) and Mullings (anthropology, CUNY), who have written numerous texts on African American studies, here provide essays and expository captions that support each of the 546 images. The content of the book is arranged chronologically and grouped into five major periods: slavery and reconstruction, the formation of Jim Crow racism, the movement of blacks into the northern cities and labor markets, the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and recent developments. A chronological summary makes it useful as a reference. This large volume, the most comprehensive of its kind, will provide a moving experience for any reader. Strongly recommended for every public and academic library.-Eric Linderman, East Cleveland P.L. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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