This Day in Civil Rights History [Paperback]

A unique catalog of historic civil rights events, This Day in Civil Rights History details the struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs on the road to equal rights for all U.S. citizens. From the Quakers 17th-century antislavery resolution, to slave uprisings during the Civil War, to the infamous Orangeburg Massacre in 1968, and beyond, authors Horace Randall Williams and Ben Beard present a vivid collection of 366 eventsone for every day of the year plus Leap Daychronicling African Americans battle for human dignity and self-determination.Every day of the year has witnessed significant events in the struggle for civil rights. This Day in Civil Rights History is an illuminating collection of these cultural turning points. This wonderful compendium offers further proof that black history is really the history of all Americans. The selections Williams and Beard have skillfully woven together reflect the astonishing richness of this subject. The result is an ingenious, compellingly readable sampling of historic events both well known and obscure, inspiring and appalling. It will satisfy those who inhabit this terrain as well as the interested tourist. Diane McWhorter, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Carry Me Home: Birmingham Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution
Williams and Beard are both writers and editors who have specialized in civil rights and African-American history, and they have written this catalog of major human rights events that correspond to each day of the year. Written for general audiences, this volume contains single-page descriptions ranging from the Emancipation Proclamation (issued on January 1, 1863) to poet Charles McKay's response to race riots on December 31, 1919. An introductory essay from the authors analyzes the debate on how to define the scope and timeline of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Shannon Hendrickson, Book News, Inc.