The civil rights movement was among the most important historical developments of the twentieth century and one of the most remarkable mass movements in American history. Not only did it decisively change the legal and political status of African Americans, but it prefigured as well the moral premises and methods of struggle for other historically oppressed groups seeking equal standing in American society. And, yet, despite a vague, sometimes begrudging recognition of its immense import, more often than not the movement has been misrepresented and misunderstood. For the general public, a singular moment, frozen in time at the Lincoln Memorial, sums up much of what Americans know about that remarkable decade of struggle. In The Movement, Thomas C. Holt provides an informed and nuanced understanding of the origins, character, and objectives of the mid-twentieth-century freedom struggle, privileging the aspirations and initiatives of the ordinary, grassroots people who made it. Holt conveys a sense of these developments as a social movement, one that shaped its participants even as they shaped it. He emphasizes the conditions of possibility that enabled the heroic initiatives of the common folk over those of their more celebrated leaders. This groundbreaking book reinserts the critical concept of "movement" back into our image and understanding of the civil rights movement.

About the Author
Thomas C. Holt is James Westfall Thompson Professor of American and African American History at the University of Chicago and the author of Children of Fire: A History of African Americans and The Problem of Race in the Twenty-First Century.

Reviews
With this latest work, Holt envisions a more complete Civil Rights Movement, one that reveals exactly what was at stake for Black Americans at the micro and macro levels of the time in their quest for equality...This book holds up a mirror to a pivotal, progressive, and painful time in this nation's past, which is precisely what Americans need more of right now. * A. O. Yeboah, CHOICE *
Despite their brevity, the six chapters offer a wealth of information and interpretive insight on the nature of the post-World War II African American freedom struggle. Holt's command of the secondary literature is sure-handed and reliable, and his conclusions about the complexities of racial discrimination and resistance bear the mark of a veteran scholar at the top of his game. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a more valuable or thought-provoking introduction to the history of a movement that changed all of our lives. * Raymond Arsenault, Journal of Southern History *
A concise, lucid and well-balanced account by one of America's best historians of the topic. * Tony Barber, Financial Times *
A succinct but nuanced overview of the origins, objectives and achievements of the civil rights movement ... Holt pays particular attention to the ordinary people and communities who took significant risks to make up the body of the movement. * Ellie Cawthorne, BBC History Magazine *
[This] concise but comprehensive history of the US civil rights movement pulls off an ambitious balancing act, placing the African-American fight for equality within its wider political and social context - all without losing sight of the campaigners on the frontline ... a hugely humanistic overview. * BBC History Revealed *
A bold and vivid story of the everyday human made heroic... Concise and riveting, The Movement is an excellent work for those seeking an examination of the US civil rights movement from a perspective somewhat rare in more mainstream histories. And for those seeking a deeper involvement, it is a good introduction. * Ron Jacobs, Morning Star *
Thomas Holt's book on the history of the Civil Rights era, The Movement: The African American Struggle for Civil Rights is a valuable and incisive work that covers the broad era of civil rights in an accessible but also rigorous manner...The Movement is a valuable resource for thinking through the Civil Rights era and its impact on American history. * Robert Green, Clafin University, USA, Journal of Contemporary History *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197525791
Author Thomas C. Holt
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions(mm) 140mm * 213mm * 20mm