Description |
xx, 348 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-315) and index. |
Contents |
Introduction -- Conditions unfavorable to the rise of the Negro : the pursuit of freedom rights before the civil rights era -- I didn't come here to knock : the making of a grassroots social movement -- We ain't going to shed a tear for Jon : school desegregation, White resistance, and the African American response -- I'm going to try to take some of the freedom here back home : the federal government and the fight for freedom rights -- We gonna show Alabama just how bad we are : the birth of the original Black Panther Party and the development of freedom politics -- Tax the rich to feed the poor : Black power and the election of 1966 -- Now is the time for work to begin : Black politics in the post-civil rights era -- Epilogue: That black dirt gets in your soul : the fight for freedom rights in the days ahead. |
Summary |
In April 1966, local activists from rural Lowndes County, Alabama, together with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) established an all-black, independent political party called the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO). The group, whose ballot symbol was a snarling black panther, was formed in part to protest against the ongoing barriers to black enfranchisement. One year earlier, not a single one of the five thousand African Americans of voting age in the majority black county was registered, despite the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Most were wary because of the county's long history of bloody, retaliatory violence committed by whites against blacks who strove to exert the freedom granted to them after the Civil War. Amid this environment of intimidation and disempowerment, black people in Lowndes County viewed the LCFO as the best vehicle for concrete change. Later that year, California-based activists Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton adopted the LCFO panther as the namesake for their new, grassroots organization: the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. This party and its adopted symbol went on to become the national organization of black militancy in the 1960s and 1970s, yet long-obscured is the crucial role that Lowndes County--historically a bastion of white supremacy--played in the story of black militancy, inspiring black activists throughout the nation to fight for their rights. Drawing on sources ranging from government documents to personal interviews with Lowndes County residents, the author tells the remarkable full story of the Lowndes County freedom struggle and its contribution to the larger civil rights movement. Bridging the gap in the literature between civil rights organizing and Black Power politics, this book offers a new paradigm for understanding the civil rights movement. |
Subject |
African Americans -- Civil rights -- Alabama -- Lowndes County -- History -- 20th century.
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Civil rights movements -- Alabama -- Lowndes County -- History -- 20th century.
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Lowndes County (Ala.) -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century.
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Black Belt (Ala. and Miss.) -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century.
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African Americans -- Alabama -- Lowndes County -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
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Lowndes County (Ala.) -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
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Black Belt (Ala. and Miss.) -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
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African Americans -- Civil rights.
(OCoLC)fst00799575
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African Americans -- Politics and government. (OCoLC)fst00799659
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Civil rights movements. (OCoLC)fst00862708
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Politics and government. (OCoLC)fst01919741
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Race relations. (OCoLC)fst01086509
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Alabama -- Lowndes County.
(OCoLC)fst01211933
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United States -- Black Belt.
(OCoLC)fst01891273
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Black power.
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Lowndes County, Ala.
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Chronological Term |
1900-1999
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Indexed Term |
African Americans Alabama Lowndes County Politics and government 20th century |
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African Americans Civil rights Alabama Lowndes County History 20th century |
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Civil rights movements Alabama Lowndes County History 20th century |
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Lowndes County (Ala.) Race relations History 20th century |
Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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ISBN |
9780814743058 (cloth ; alkaline paper) |
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0814743056 (cloth ; alkaline paper) |
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9780814743317 (paperback ; alkaline paper) |
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0814743315 (paperback ; alkaline paper) |
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