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shannonflynn's review against another edition
5.0
my main takeaways:
-the same people who say “be more like MLK” to suggest that BLM’s “tactics hurt their cause” (etc) are the same type of people who would have probably sent MLK death threats. They’re calling upon this myth thats been created that whitewashes the legacy of the whole movement and tries to make people think respectability politics are what made the movement successful rather than what it actually was which was long hours in meetings, strategizing, knocking doors, taking big risks and personal sacrifices, rioting, getting death threats, not having the support of people for long periods of time, people literally getting murdered for their work, using a wide range of tactics and strategies, different groups not always agreeing or working together, etc
-The civil rights movement is used by liberals and conservatives to essentially say, “see? We fixed racism by coming together as a country quiet down”
-apparently Rosa Parks has written about how lonely and frustrating it was to be an organizer and I gotta read that
-the same people who say “be more like MLK” to suggest that BLM’s “tactics hurt their cause” (etc) are the same type of people who would have probably sent MLK death threats. They’re calling upon this myth thats been created that whitewashes the legacy of the whole movement and tries to make people think respectability politics are what made the movement successful rather than what it actually was which was long hours in meetings, strategizing, knocking doors, taking big risks and personal sacrifices, rioting, getting death threats, not having the support of people for long periods of time, people literally getting murdered for their work, using a wide range of tactics and strategies, different groups not always agreeing or working together, etc
-The civil rights movement is used by liberals and conservatives to essentially say, “see? We fixed racism by coming together as a country quiet down”
-apparently Rosa Parks has written about how lonely and frustrating it was to be an organizer and I gotta read that
susanscribs's review against another edition
4.0
Eye-opening look at the whitewashed Civil Rights history we have been given. Occasionally repetitive but informative and important.
audreylee's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this book as an Early Reviewer from LibraryThing and the publisher.
This is an important book but not an easy or perfect one. Theoharis points out the hypocrisies in our current teachings of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.as THE Civil Rights movement, of ignoring the decades of organized struggle by many people. Teaching the history of Parks and King as one act of defiance and one great speech is detrimental to our understanding of the movement and to the politics and movements of today in the author's view. Ignoring the fact that at the time of these actions, these two heroes were reviled much more than respected and that their actions brought upon them a sense of isolation and economic hardships which lasted for years is to gloss over the hardships of activism. She points out the hypocrisies in Northern reports on Southern racism while segregation and "busing" issues were alive and strong in New York and Boston, two cities long believed to be the home of liberalism. Theoharis does a wonderful job of spotlighting the long years of struggle and organizing which took place, sometimes unsuccessfully, in the name of freedom and some of the unknown activists who spent their lives, and sometimes lost their lives in this ongoing struggle. This book is also one of the few books on the Civil Rights Movement that highlighted the many women who supported and sometimes led the movement.
Some of the less than perfect aspects of this book included the formatting. Instead of meeting these issues chronologically, the reader finds the book sectioned by education, media, etc. The problem is that several sentences are picked up word by word from one section and repeated in another providing a "repetitive" reading experience. This book also reads like an academic text which could definitely cause some consternation in the casual reader. While Theodakis did a wonderful job of highlighting the women involved in the movement, while she mentions Black Lives Matters, she does not acknowledge the leadership provided by provided by its founding women. It would also have been interesting to hear more about what exactly students are being taught from a student's viewpoint. The Author maintains that we are teaching Civil Rights as if the movement ended at the Voting Rights Act and Brown vs Board of Education; however, doesn't seem to have a plan for education of students on why Malcolm X, The Black Panthers, and continued systemic racism as evidenced by the continued police shootings and "unpatriotic" rhetoric against Black Lives Matter activists is important.
Overall, this is an important and worthwhile read.
This is an important book but not an easy or perfect one. Theoharis points out the hypocrisies in our current teachings of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.as THE Civil Rights movement, of ignoring the decades of organized struggle by many people. Teaching the history of Parks and King as one act of defiance and one great speech is detrimental to our understanding of the movement and to the politics and movements of today in the author's view. Ignoring the fact that at the time of these actions, these two heroes were reviled much more than respected and that their actions brought upon them a sense of isolation and economic hardships which lasted for years is to gloss over the hardships of activism. She points out the hypocrisies in Northern reports on Southern racism while segregation and "busing" issues were alive and strong in New York and Boston, two cities long believed to be the home of liberalism. Theoharis does a wonderful job of spotlighting the long years of struggle and organizing which took place, sometimes unsuccessfully, in the name of freedom and some of the unknown activists who spent their lives, and sometimes lost their lives in this ongoing struggle. This book is also one of the few books on the Civil Rights Movement that highlighted the many women who supported and sometimes led the movement.
Some of the less than perfect aspects of this book included the formatting. Instead of meeting these issues chronologically, the reader finds the book sectioned by education, media, etc. The problem is that several sentences are picked up word by word from one section and repeated in another providing a "repetitive" reading experience. This book also reads like an academic text which could definitely cause some consternation in the casual reader. While Theodakis did a wonderful job of highlighting the women involved in the movement, while she mentions Black Lives Matters, she does not acknowledge the leadership provided by provided by its founding women. It would also have been interesting to hear more about what exactly students are being taught from a student's viewpoint. The Author maintains that we are teaching Civil Rights as if the movement ended at the Voting Rights Act and Brown vs Board of Education; however, doesn't seem to have a plan for education of students on why Malcolm X, The Black Panthers, and continued systemic racism as evidenced by the continued police shootings and "unpatriotic" rhetoric against Black Lives Matter activists is important.
Overall, this is an important and worthwhile read.
shoesforall's review against another edition
4.0
Even though this book had quite an extensive collection of footnotes, I wish that more primary sources had been used. It might have made the book less accessible to general audiences but it would have made the book more durable. Overal impression: a flawed but vital read.
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