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therightprofile's review
4.0
A highly-interesting, accessible and important book which introduced me to the complexity of the civil rights movement in the US (North, West and South). It definitely prompts further research and left me both flabbergasted that much of the movement (and contribution of many individuals and groups) had been ignored or conveniently distilled to certain individuals as well as inspiring that even teenagers and communities who came together despite overwhelming odds and opposition can bring about change.
lizmart88's review
4.0
This is a book everyone should read. If you want to learn more deeply about the US civil rights movement, start here. This book unpacks the legacy of how we teach about civil rights alongside how the media has reported on civil rights.
The first chapters dive deep into the Northern Black-led movements for school desegregation, which were minimized by the media. It looks at Boston and NYC (which never desegregated) and then it looks at Los Angeles. Then it pivots to really look at specific examples of how the (white) media did a disservice to Black-led movements for justice.
Finally, she digs into myths around the movement including that MLK was the sole leader, and the silencing of women by MLK and his peers highlighting the intentional lack of women speakers at the March on Washington. She explores Coretta Scott King's role as more progressive than her husband, and other Black women leaders like Gloria Richardson and Anna Arnold Hedgeman. In the last chapter, she retells the story of Rosa Parks in the way it should be told without minimizing the true terrible and beautiful history. It was not inevitable, but neither was it an accident.
The first chapters dive deep into the Northern Black-led movements for school desegregation, which were minimized by the media. It looks at Boston and NYC (which never desegregated) and then it looks at Los Angeles. Then it pivots to really look at specific examples of how the (white) media did a disservice to Black-led movements for justice.
Finally, she digs into myths around the movement including that MLK was the sole leader, and the silencing of women by MLK and his peers highlighting the intentional lack of women speakers at the March on Washington. She explores Coretta Scott King's role as more progressive than her husband, and other Black women leaders like Gloria Richardson and Anna Arnold Hedgeman. In the last chapter, she retells the story of Rosa Parks in the way it should be told without minimizing the true terrible and beautiful history. It was not inevitable, but neither was it an accident.
sunflowerjess's review
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Probably everything you've learned about the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr is whitewashed and simplified. MLK Jr was so much more than his "I Have a Dream" speech and Rosa Parks so much more than one seat on a bus. This book does an incredible job of putting these well-known moments of history into context and revealing the decades-long, community-wide struggles around these pivotal moments. The book also connects the Civil Rights Movement with today's BLM protests and shows how the same criticisms and oppositions are being raised today as they were in history. King, Parks, and other leaders were not quiet, docile, or polite, and they didn't accomplish what they did alone. This is priceless reading for anyone who wants to support social justice today.
brianlokker's review against another edition
3.0
In this important book, Professor Harris argues that the common and “official” narrative of the civil rights movement in the United States is wrong—she calls it a “fable.” The fable is neatly summarized in Julian Bond’s quip: “Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, then the white folks saw the light and saved the day.” In other words, after a couple of high-profile actions by a couple of well-known leaders, the white majority embraced the cause and everything changed.
Theoharis explores numerous ways in which this narrative is false, including, among others, the following: The common view that the civil rights movement was confined to the South, because it was only necessary in the South, ignores the racism in the North and other parts of the country, which led to school boycotts and other struggles. The idea that the movement consisted of the well-known boycotts, marches, riots, and other events of the 1950s and 1960s obscures the long history of activism that preceded them. The popular view that “fat Southern sheriffs” and other bigoted Southerners were the only people who kept Black people down lets a lot of people off the hook, even white liberals whose complacency gave silent assent to racist systems. The notion that the media lent its support to the movement and helped popularize it is wrong, especially as it pertains to the early years, when the media largely supported the status quo. And, most tellingly, the identification of the movement with Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and a few other leaders ignores the longstanding and essential activism of the Black community as a whole.
Theoharis notes that the national narrative of U.S. civil rights history frames the movement as a part of history, a struggle in the past, the success of which entitles us to self-congratulation. In this telling, civil rights progress demonstrates America’s essential goodness. “A movement that had challenged the very fabric of US politics and society was turned into one that demonstrated how great and expansive the country was—a story of individual bravery, natural evolution, and the long march to ‘a more perfect union.’” For many people, the success of the movement was demonstrated by Barack Obama’s election, which “made many of his supporters feel like we had overcome.”
Theoharis makes it clear that her critique is intended not only to set the historical record straight as an academic matter, but also to demonstrate that current expressions of the struggle, such as Black Live Matter, are consistent with the true history of the movement. She argues that the fable that America tells itself is dangerous. It’s easy to be complacent if we believe the struggle is essentially over and little or nothing more needs to be done. And with a sanitized vision of the past, it becomes easier to demonize BLM and other activists now because they are allegedly “not like Martin” or “not like Rosa.”
There are many important ideas in this book, and I learned a lot by reading it. I especially enjoyed and learned from the sections about Rosa Parks (Theoharis has also written a political biography of Rosa Parks), Coretta Scott King, and the women who were marginalized at the March on Washington, as well as about some of the school boycotts in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. And the final chapter, in which she summarizes ten lessons to be learned from the true history of the civil rights movement, is excellent.
On the negative side, I found the book to be somewhat repetitious (even to the point of repeating quotes) and unnecessarily polemical. To cite one small example of the latter, Theoharis notes that former FBI Director James Comey initiated the practice of including a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial and a discussion of a King quote in FBI agent training, in order to help understand what happens when power is abused. But instead of giving Comey some credit for this initiative and discussing it in more detail, she just dismisses it and complains that it’s inadequate for understanding how abuse of power occurs.
With those caveats, I recommend the book as a worthwhile resource for understanding the history of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Theoharis explores numerous ways in which this narrative is false, including, among others, the following: The common view that the civil rights movement was confined to the South, because it was only necessary in the South, ignores the racism in the North and other parts of the country, which led to school boycotts and other struggles. The idea that the movement consisted of the well-known boycotts, marches, riots, and other events of the 1950s and 1960s obscures the long history of activism that preceded them. The popular view that “fat Southern sheriffs” and other bigoted Southerners were the only people who kept Black people down lets a lot of people off the hook, even white liberals whose complacency gave silent assent to racist systems. The notion that the media lent its support to the movement and helped popularize it is wrong, especially as it pertains to the early years, when the media largely supported the status quo. And, most tellingly, the identification of the movement with Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and a few other leaders ignores the longstanding and essential activism of the Black community as a whole.
Theoharis notes that the national narrative of U.S. civil rights history frames the movement as a part of history, a struggle in the past, the success of which entitles us to self-congratulation. In this telling, civil rights progress demonstrates America’s essential goodness. “A movement that had challenged the very fabric of US politics and society was turned into one that demonstrated how great and expansive the country was—a story of individual bravery, natural evolution, and the long march to ‘a more perfect union.’” For many people, the success of the movement was demonstrated by Barack Obama’s election, which “made many of his supporters feel like we had overcome.”
Theoharis makes it clear that her critique is intended not only to set the historical record straight as an academic matter, but also to demonstrate that current expressions of the struggle, such as Black Live Matter, are consistent with the true history of the movement. She argues that the fable that America tells itself is dangerous. It’s easy to be complacent if we believe the struggle is essentially over and little or nothing more needs to be done. And with a sanitized vision of the past, it becomes easier to demonize BLM and other activists now because they are allegedly “not like Martin” or “not like Rosa.”
There are many important ideas in this book, and I learned a lot by reading it. I especially enjoyed and learned from the sections about Rosa Parks (Theoharis has also written a political biography of Rosa Parks), Coretta Scott King, and the women who were marginalized at the March on Washington, as well as about some of the school boycotts in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. And the final chapter, in which she summarizes ten lessons to be learned from the true history of the civil rights movement, is excellent.
On the negative side, I found the book to be somewhat repetitious (even to the point of repeating quotes) and unnecessarily polemical. To cite one small example of the latter, Theoharis notes that former FBI Director James Comey initiated the practice of including a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial and a discussion of a King quote in FBI agent training, in order to help understand what happens when power is abused. But instead of giving Comey some credit for this initiative and discussing it in more detail, she just dismisses it and complains that it’s inadequate for understanding how abuse of power occurs.
With those caveats, I recommend the book as a worthwhile resource for understanding the history of the U.S. civil rights movement.
whatsellorareading's review
5.0
Read this book for a college class but it has ended up becoming one of my favorite books I've ever read.
lucasmiller's review
5.0
Really enjoyed this book. The thesis of the book is necessary and several volumes could be written to support it. The specific examples that Theoharis explores are not uniformly enlightening, but they all speak to the need to reevaluate some of the most tired tellings of Civil Rights history.
It is good to read a new historical monograph that is angry and righteous and unafraid to look at the world and say this is fucked up.
I think that the chapter titles and subheadings are weird and rambling. The information about the school desegregation in New York and Boston and the high school walk outs in LA are all essential. More detail on things that are usually just mentioned in Civil Rights histories. Everyone should read more about the Civil Rights Movement, read this book, and then start over. Highly Recommended.
It is good to read a new historical monograph that is angry and righteous and unafraid to look at the world and say this is fucked up.
I think that the chapter titles and subheadings are weird and rambling. The information about the school desegregation in New York and Boston and the high school walk outs in LA are all essential. More detail on things that are usually just mentioned in Civil Rights histories. Everyone should read more about the Civil Rights Movement, read this book, and then start over. Highly Recommended.
just_kate's review
read sections for a class And really wanted to get through more but it is just kinda dense and I've been reading more YA and fiction as of late for kind of a.mental break
katebd's review
4.0
This book has a lot of very important information that both inspires action and provokes some serious critical thinking about the way we frame the civil rights movement. I do consider it a must read for those who want to learn more about freedom struggles (both in the past and present).
My only issue is that the chapters feel more like discrete essays than a cohesive book, which wouldn’t be a problem except that some of the writing and key points Theoharis makes start to feel redundant across chapters.
Overall, it’s readable and serves as a good starting point to delve deeper into key figures, movements, and locations that may interest you - I often found myself checking her footnotes to find material for further reading. I found it was best to take this book on a chapter by chapter basis rather than trying to read it straight through.
My only issue is that the chapters feel more like discrete essays than a cohesive book, which wouldn’t be a problem except that some of the writing and key points Theoharis makes start to feel redundant across chapters.
Overall, it’s readable and serves as a good starting point to delve deeper into key figures, movements, and locations that may interest you - I often found myself checking her footnotes to find material for further reading. I found it was best to take this book on a chapter by chapter basis rather than trying to read it straight through.
enjohnson's review
5.0
this really does an excellent job at dismantling our myths about the civil rights and brings light to other stories, perhaps truer stories as well