John Lewis is a current congressman from Georgia, but he was a major leader in the civil rights movement back in the 60s. This book is his story of the civil rights movement. It is a great historic account written by someone who is a true American hero. Nothing else can describe his perserverance and what he went through.
The civil rights struggle is one of the great American stories of the last century. A time when America was made to live up to its creed and highest ideals. The ending of segregation and the expansion of voting rights were victories won from the bottom up. This book and the history of the civil rights struggle should be required reading and understood by all Americans. The civil rights movement made us what we are today.
He starts the book describing his life as a child growing up in a poor share croper family. How hard it was to keep your head above water. It reflects the stories of so many who struggle on the edge of poverty.
In college as a young kid, he was one of the leaders of the Nashville sit-ins aimed at ending segregation within local businesses. They took inspiration from the Montgomery Bus Boycott which introduced Martin Luther King Jr to the world stage. Lewis’ group devoted themselves to learning the principles of non-violent struggle which had such a direct impact on their success.
One of the interesting people he introduces here is Diane Nash, she was the leader of the Nashville sit-ins and is one of the un-sung heros of the movement. I have daughters and I was especially inspired by hearing her story. For all its high aims of freedom, the civil rights movement did struggle with issues of gender equality. Many of the female leaders had to struggle within the struggle to develop and exert their leadership.
So much of the direct action was lead by young people. He talks about the struggles within the movement between generation, the older more established groups taking a more gradualist approach, while the younger groups wanting so much to get it done now. The time was right for the direct action groups and the discipline of the non-violent approach was key. Young people with energy, impatience, and optimism did so much. Older people with families to provide for and protect in many cases were the followers.
He next describes the freedom rides to Mississippi (to desegregate bus terminals), the founding of SNCC (pronounced snick – Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), and the summer voting registration project in Mississippi. He was arrested and beat up numerous times by angry gangs of whites. 3 civil rights workers (2 of them white) were killed that summer. In many ways it was like being in a war.
He was one of the leaders (as head of SNCC) in planning the March on Washington where King gave his famous I have a Dream speach. Many Americans, I believe, think of the civil rights movement as mainly a big march, which got some laws passed, then it was over. The march on Washington was largely just another step of many in the struggle.
Its eye opening to see his real world account of the the civil rights movement and SNCC (which was youth based and more action based than the other civil rights organizations) with the factions and conflicts over strategy and goals that developd within the movement. In some ways they were like any other human grouping with egos, preconceived notions, great fears, and great dedication.
One interesting issue in particular is the discussion within SNCC of white participation. As much as 20% of their workers were whites who got inspired by the work they were doing and wanted to help. Some thought this should be a black organization, that we need to develop our own leaders, but others were glad to have the help, eager for help from all corners.
Another struggle was between the founding concepts of non-violence and those who werent trained in it and believed in a more self defense and radicalized approach. This conflict ultimately led to his removal as head of SNCC, and the eventual disintegration of the organization.
Racism is a very emotional, even primative attitude. It is based on fear, anger and violence. Going against this took huge courage. The non-violent philosophy of loving your enemy and not striking back, is so unintuative in a way, but it was also very successful. The media footage of water cannons being used on children in Birmingham or the police riots of Selma stirred the conscience of Americans and showed the system of segregation as the hateful and unamerican thing that it was. This was the key in winning the legislative victories of the civil rights act which eventually ended segregation, and the voting rights act which finally gave large numbers of blacks in the south the right to vote.
We forget what it took to do this or maybe we never really considered what it took. But its something that we as Americans must never forget. Just as our veterans fight for our freedom and we remember them, we should remember these people who fought non-violently for their freedom at home and at the same time freed the larger society (all of us) from hate and ignorance.
He describes Selma as the final great victory of the civil rights movement. It was a non violent campaign about trying to register blacks to vote. John Lewis was one of the leaders in a march that culminated in Bloody Sunday, where the marchers were visously attacked in what was basically a police riot. This campaign led to the passing of the voting rights act.
After Selma the movement tried to switch to the difficult issues of economic opportunity and justice. Others started advocating violence, riots were starting to break out. The war on poverty was begun, but the vietnam war soon began to dominate everything. The murders of King and Kennedy in 1968, just weeks from one another, was a huge demoralizing blow which took out much of the remaining steam.
People moved on to other things, many continued the work of building a more just economy with greater opportunity for all. This fight continues to this day, and those who do this work are in a sense the descendents of this great American movement.
The last chapter is worth the read just by itself. He talks about his unchanged moral political philosophy, non violent direct action and a biracial democracy. He worries that the movement is being forgotten. So many forget the state of fear that existed and the courage it took to overcome it. He worries of an increasingly defacto resegregation of society, and the barriers to opportunity that are becoming more class based rather than merely racial, and the increased inequality in America.
The book is 10 years old but this last chapter applies very much to today. The drive to cut the deficit on the backs of the poor while making sure the rich bare no sacrafices. This very much applies to today. He even mentions Newt Gingrich, possibly the most polarizing politician of the last 100 years, and who is remarkably making a political come back now.
The struggle does continue, its far from over. This book teaches lessons that we can never forget, both the ups and downs of a struggle who made us what we are and what we can never forget moving forward.
