SUGGESTED READING LIST
The King Legacy: Where Do we Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
Written by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is the final manuscript written by Dr. King. It was written in 1967 as Dr. King laid “out his thoughts, plans, and dreams for America’s future, including the need for better jobs, higher wages, decent housing, and quality education. With a universal message of hope that continues to resonate, King demanded an end to global suffering, asserting that humankind—for the first time—has the resources and technology to eradicate poverty.” Published by Beacon Press.
Stride Towards Freedom: The Montgomery Story
Written by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This book “recites” the early life of Dr. King when he first went into the ministry. It tells of his personal conflict between what he would do as his life work. The struggle to become a minister like his father was something that he seriously debated. The march in Montgomery was one of Dr. King’s first under-taking and defined who he would become as a civil rights leader. Published by Beacon Press.
The Civil Rights Movement: An Illustrated History
Written by Brenda Wilkinson. In this book, Ms Wilkinson outlines the history of the civil rights movement by tracing it back to the beginning of slavery in America and then preceded to show key events that would eventually cultimate in what would later be called the civil rights movement. She vividly, through words and pictures provides the reader with a overall view of what Blacks endured to achieve some semblance of equality in America. Published by Crescent books.
Mine Eyes Have Seen: Bearing Witness to the Struggle for Civil Rights
Life Great Photographers Series. “This is a book about a time, a people—and a cause. It is a passionate chronicle of one of the epic undertakings in American history, the struggle during the second half of the twentieth century for civil rights. It is a story about a nation fighting to make itself whole. Bob Adelman witnessed that fight and recorded it with is camera. This is his testament.” Published by Life magazine.
Out-of-the Box in Dixie
This is Cecil Williams’ photography of the South Carolina events that changed America. ‘The missing history. The unrecorded quiet heroism. Spanning more than a half century of racial change from Briggs v. Elliott in 1949 to “Rally for the removal of the Confederate Flag” in 2000, Cecil William’s expansive volume explores the Civil Rights Movement from the inside perspective of an activist and photojournalist.’ “The Orangeburg Freedom Movement—the second vies—was the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which many historians claim was the beginning of America’s Civil Rights Movement.” Manufactured in South Korea.
By Any Means Necessary
Edited by George Breitman. This book is a collection of speeches, interviews and a letter by Malcolm X. It briefly gives us a “bird-eyes” view of who Malcolm X was as a leader, person and advocate for civil rights. It tells of his radical views that were transformed later in his life after his visit to Mecca. Published by Pathfinder Books.
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Written by Nelson Mandela. This book is a rendering and a personal history of Nelson Mandela from his birth, early child-hood, early life as a freedom fighter, his imprisonment and eventually his election as President of South Africa. It is a soul-searching history of a man who lost his rights and reclaimed them years later. Published by Back Bay Books.
Gandhi: An Autobiography—The Story of my Experiments with Truth
Written by Mohandas K. Gandhi. “In this classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of Satyagraha, or active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.” Published by Beacon Press
The Souls of Blake Folk
Written by W.E.B. DuBois. “This landmark book is a founding work in the literature of black protest. W. E. B. DuBois (1868-1963) played a key role in developing the strategy and program that dominated early 20th black protest in America. In this collection of essays, first published together in 1903, he eloquently affirms that it is beneath the dignity of a human being to beg for those rights that belong inherently to all mankind.” Published by Dover Press.
Black Reconstruction in America
Written by W. E. B. DuBois. “This pioneering work was the first full-length study of the role Black Americans played in the crucial period after the Civil War, when the slaves had been freed and the attempt was made to reconstruct American society. Hailed at the time, it has justly been called a classic.” Published by The Free Press.
Up from Slavery
Written by Booker T. Washington. “Born in a Virginia slave hut, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) rose to become the most influential spokesman for African Americans of his day. In this eloquently written book, he describes events in a remarkable life that began in bondage and culminated in worldwide recognition for his many accomplishments. In simply written yet stirring passages, he tells of his impoverished childhood and youth, the unrelenting struggle for an education, early teaching assignments, his selection in 1881 to head Tuskegee Institute, and more.” Published by Dover Press.
Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage
Written by William Loren Katz. “Thouth they the have never appeared in a school text, Hollywood movie or a TV show of the Old West, Black Indians were there as sure as Sitting Bull, Davy Crockett and Geronimo. Their story began at the time of Columbus, ranged from North American forest to South American jungles, and the jewel-like islands of the Caribbean.” Published by Macmillan Publishing Company.
Paradoxes of Desegregation: African American Struggles for Educational Equity in Charleston, South Carolina, 1926- 1972
Written by R. Scott Baker. This book “brings fresh insight to the struggle that unfolded around education in South Carolina, demonstrating its formative role in shaping the possibilities and limitations of the civil rights movement in the Palmetto State. Scott Baker offers a textured analyses of the African American challenge to unequal schools and the parallel efforts of white policymakers to resist and contain black access to public education.” (Previous comments by Patricia Sullivan, author of Days of Hope: Race and Democracy in the New Deal Era). This book published by University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina.
Rediscovering Kingdom Worship: The Purpose and Power of Praise and Worship
Written by Dr. Myles Munroe. “In this expanded edition of his classic work, Dr. Myles Munroe reveals how worship, rather than mere routine “preliminaries,” is the essential key to the presence of God. Worship is the very culture of the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Unknown comments from the back cover of this book). Published by Destiny Image Books.
Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer
Written by Dr. Myles Munroe. “Through his unique perspective on this often-misunderstood subject, best- selling author Dr. Myles Munroe takes the mystery out of prayer, providing practical answers for difficult questions about communicating with God.” (Unknown comments from the back cover of this book). Published by Whitaker House.