Julian Bond's Time to Teach
A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A masterclass in the civil rights movement from one of the legendary activists who led it.
Compiled from his original lecture notes, Julian Bond’s Time to Teach brings his invaluable teachings to a new generation of readers and provides a necessary toolkit for today’s activists in the era of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo. Julian Bond sought to dismantle the perception of the civil rights movement as a peaceful and respectable protest that quickly garnered widespread support. Through his lectures, Bond detailed the ground-shaking disruption the movement caused, its immense unpopularity at the time, and the bravery of activists (some very young) who chose to disturb order to pursue justice.
Beginning with the movement’s origins in the early twentieth century, Bond tackles key events such as the Montgomery bus boycott, the Little Rock Nine, Freedom Rides, sit-ins, Mississippi voter registration, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing, the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act, Freedom Summer, and Selma. He explains the youth activism, community ties, and strategizing required to build strenuous and successful movements. With these firsthand accounts of the civil rights movement and original photos from Danny Lyon, Julian Bond’s Time to Teach makes history come alive.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This revelatory collection of classroom lectures by UVA history professor and Georgia state senator Bond (1940 2015) shines a spotlight on lesser-known aspects of the civil rights movement. Expertly edited by Horowitz, Bond's wife, and Brooklyn College political science professor Theoharis (A More Beautiful and Terrible History), his former teaching assistant, the pieces challenge the "master narrative" of the movement: "Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, then the white folks saw the light and saved the day." Bond details how thousands of young, poor, and working-class protestors applied the pressure that led to school integration and the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, among other milestones, and notes that liberal white politicians, including John and Robert Kennedy, resisted the movement in its earliest days. Bond also pays tribute to numerous grassroots leaders, many of them women; reveals affinities between the civil rights, Black Power, and antiapartheid movements; and details disagreements between SNCC, the NAACP, and other civil rights organizations. Elegant photos by SNCC photographer Danny Lyon and an extensive bibliography compiled by Bond complement the eye-opening history. The result is a worthy contribution to the historical record and an inspirational guide for today's social justice activists.
