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Freedom's main line : the journey of reconciliation and the freedom rides / Derek Charles Catsam.

By: Catsam, DerekMaterial type: TextTextSeries: Civil rights and the struggle for Black equality in the twentieth century: Publisher: Lexington : University Press Of Kentucky, 2011Edition: Pbk. edDescription: xiv, 421 p. ; 23 cmISBN: 0813133777; 9780813133775 (pbk.)Subject(s): Freedom Rides, 1961 | African Americans -- Civil rights -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century | African Americans -- Segregation -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century | Civil rights demonstrations -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century | Segregation in transportation -- Southern States -- History -- 20th century | Southern States -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century
Contents:
Prologue: From Bigger Thomas to Henry Thomas -- Introduction : how the Freedom Rides were born (and what they mean) -- 1. "We challenged Jim Crow" : the journey of reconciliation and the emergence of direct action civil rights protest in the 1940s -- 2. Erasing the badge of inferiority : segregated interstate transport on the ground and in the courts, 1941-1960 -- 3. "The last supper" : preparing for the Freedom Rides -- 4. "Hallelujah, I'm a travelin'!" Freedom riding through the old dominion -- 5. The Carolinas -- 6. "Blazing hell" : from Georgia into Alabama -- 7. The Magic City : showdown in Birmingham -- 8. "I'm riding the front seat to Montgomery this time" : the students take control -- 9. "We've come too far to turn back" : Montgomery -- 10. Mississippi : "that irreducible citadel of southernism" -- 11. Jailed in : from Jackson City jail to Parchman Farm -- 12. Conclusion : legacies of the Freedom Rides.
Summary: "Freedom's main line... argues that the Freedom Rides, a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, were a logical, natural evolution in the struggle for civil rights. Following models provided by previous challenges to segregation, such as the Journey of Reconciliation, they relied on the principles of nonviolence common in the larger movement. The impact of the Freedom Rides, however, was unprecedented, fixing the issue of civil rights firmly in the national consciousness. Later activists were often dubbed Freedom Riders even if they never set foot on a bus." -- Cover, p. [4].
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Stacks - 3rd Floor 		E185.61 C295 2011 (Browse shelf) Available 0000002164804

Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-403) and index.

Prologue: From Bigger Thomas to Henry Thomas -- Introduction : how the Freedom Rides were born (and what they mean) -- 1. "We challenged Jim Crow" : the journey of reconciliation and the emergence of direct action civil rights protest in the 1940s -- 2. Erasing the badge of inferiority : segregated interstate transport on the ground and in the courts, 1941-1960 -- 3. "The last supper" : preparing for the Freedom Rides -- 4. "Hallelujah, I'm a travelin'!" Freedom riding through the old dominion -- 5. The Carolinas -- 6. "Blazing hell" : from Georgia into Alabama -- 7. The Magic City : showdown in Birmingham -- 8. "I'm riding the front seat to Montgomery this time" : the students take control -- 9. "We've come too far to turn back" : Montgomery -- 10. Mississippi : "that irreducible citadel of southernism" -- 11. Jailed in : from Jackson City jail to Parchman Farm -- 12. Conclusion : legacies of the Freedom Rides.

"Freedom's main line... argues that the Freedom Rides, a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, were a logical, natural evolution in the struggle for civil rights. Following models provided by previous challenges to segregation, such as the Journey of Reconciliation, they relied on the principles of nonviolence common in the larger movement. The impact of the Freedom Rides, however, was unprecedented, fixing the issue of civil rights firmly in the national consciousness. Later activists were often dubbed Freedom Riders even if they never set foot on a bus." -- Cover, p. [4].

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Catsam (Univ. of Texas of the Permian Basin) has written an interesting account of the desegregation efforts of civil rights activists who targeted interstate public transportation during the Civil Rights Movement. Nearly a decade before the Brown v. Board of Education case, 16 black and white activists in 1947 first challenged segregated interstate busing by undertaking a four-state bus tour, the "Journey of Reconciliation," which drew little attention but laid the groundwork for the highly publicized 1961 Freedom Rides. The author devotes one chapter to the earlier "Journey" and another to studying segregated interstate transportation "on the ground and in the courts." He dedicates the remaining nine chapters to describing the details of the Freedom Rides, concluding with a discussion of their legacies to the wider Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Catsam bases his narrative on archival documents as well as extensive use of memoirs, oral interview transcripts, and relevant secondary sources. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. K. J. Volanto Collin College

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Derek Charles Catsam is associate professor of history at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. His previous publications include numerous reviews and articles. He lives in Odessa, TX.

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