Product Description

Profiling 24 of the adult children of the most recognizable figures in the civil rights movement, this book collects the intimate, moving stories of families who were pulled apart by the horrors of the struggle or brought together by their efforts to change America. The whole range of players is covered, from the children of leading figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and martyrs like James Earl Chaney to segregationists like George Wallace and Black Panther leaders like Elaine Brown. The essays reveal that some children are more pessimistic than their parents, whose idealism they saw destroyed by the struggle, while others are still trying to change the world. Included are such inspiring stories as the daughter of a notoriously racist Southern governor who finds her calling as a teacher in an all-black inner-city school and the daughter of a famous martyr who unexpectedly meets her mother’s killer. From the first activists killed by racist Southerners to the current global justice protestors carrying on the work of their parents, these profiles offer a look behind the public face of the triumphant civil rights movement and show the individual lives it changed in surprising ways.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1323646 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
While most people contemplate civil rights struggles in the "past tense," this is a luxury that offspring of the era’s famous names cannot afford, says Blake, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter. The author spent two years tracking down the adult sons and daughters of the iconic leaders, lesser-known lieutenants, valiant activists and arch segregationists for these 24 brief, often emotional, occasionally predictable profiles. A few of the civil rights movement’s second generation writhe under the weight of history, while others thrive on self-forged paths. For the sons of Martin Luther King Jr. and Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), the personal is always political as they confront unrelenting pressures to carry on their fathers’ monumental works. The biracial daughters of Reverend James Bevel, an influential sit-in leader and protest organizer, bemoan their absentee father, a civil rights "Daddy Dearest" who "speaks in political theory all the time" and lambastes interracial relationships. Blake excels at uncovering the questions gnawing at his subjects. George Wallace’s daughter wonders, "How do you explain your father to your own son?" The child of Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown asks, "What do you do when the revolution never comes?" Blake does not, however, attempt to answer these nagging questions. The final chapter, on "The New Radicals"—the anti-globalization leaders who claim inspiration from their parents’ activism—presents a problematic coda. A mostly-white movement with global aims, this movement’s battle in Seattle fails to rouse the same passion as earlier struggles in Selma and Atlanta. However, this slight diversion does not upstage an otherwise insightful study of civil rights figures through the eyes and lives of their children. 65 b & w photos
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Newspaper reporter Blake examines the relationships between well-known civil rights activists and their sons and daughters in this revealing look at how the movement affected the personal lives of activists and the legacy inherited by their children. Blake profiles 24 children of activists, as well as some of their parents, many of whom were left deflated after their activist experience and unable to get their bearings in life. Among the subjects are the children of iconic figures Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, as well as the children of Elijah Muhammad, Andrew Young, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, Bob Moses, James Chaney, and Elaine Brown. These revealing portraits show some parents as emotionally and professionally adrift after the movement, distant or overly demanding of their children. Among the offspring, some recount the overwhelming expectations placed on them, and many are less idealistic about changing the world. Blake also includes triumphant portraits of parents and offspring who have survived the traumatic stress of the movement and continue a tradition of idealism and activism. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A fresh approach to chronicling the historic struggle. . .powerful." -- The Atlanta Tribune

"A highly original, insightful and sometimes emotionally riveting book." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Fascinating." -- Charlotte Observer

"This engaging string of profiles strips away cliches to reveal raw, intimate truths." -- Courier-Post

"Touching, disturbing and surprising." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal

"Valuable." -- The Nashville City Paper

Customer Reviews

Portrait of the Heart and Soul of the Freedom Movement
John Blake's book, "Children of the Movement," provides a powerful, if painful, glimpse into the heart and soul of the Freedom Movement of the Sixties, as, an insightful portrait of its legacy, through the lens of some of its children--one of whom is my own daughter, Ericka Abram. Blake's tenderly-written report reveals many common themes in the perspectives and lives of these offspring, the most compelling for me being that Movement parents seemed to have been so committed to our cause and protecting our children from the social ills we fought, we forgot to tell them what and why we were fighting. The resulting common disconnection between parents and children is more broadly reflected in the confusion and despair of today, in dealing with unrelenting racism and poverty and oppression, that stand in the stead of the clarity of purpose and commitment of the past. Blake's book opens the door to a healthy discussion toward healing familial wounds and easing generational divisions so as to bring us together in a new effort to finally find freedom in America.

Incredible! A MUST READ!
As a child born in the late 70's, I've often felt, in some sense, that the Movement was something in the "past tense"...something that was really (according to History Books) only associated with MLK and other "icons".

After reading Children of the Movement, I realize I was reading the gaps of my childhood history books. I was also hearing the story told from the children...the youth of the 50s/60s...the ones that essentially "gave up" their fathers and mothers for the cause.

Wow...what sacrifice...John Blake makes you look at MORE than the leaders we often hear about, but forces the reader to face how the movement affected children of the time and how the pain and loss weighs on all of us today.

The only way to ensure this perspective is HEARD is to recommend this book to an educator you know...a History professor, a Social Studies teacher...someone who can truly ensure that children today absorb this rich perspective...

Required reading
This book should be required reading for anyone from the age of 10 to 100, but particularly for those members of the last several generations who may take certain freedoms and rights for granted. For anyone who may be only slightly familiar with the struggles, sacrifices, pains and scars of those who fought for civil rights in America, Blake's book is a vital history lesson, presented in fascinating narratives that captures the reader's attention from beginning to end.
By focusing on the children of the movement, Blake gives a fresh and often unpredictable view of the civil rights movement. The extensive use of photographs was an important compliment to each and every chapter.