Steven F. Lawson is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University. He has served as an adviser to the television documentary series Eyes on the Prize and has participated as an historical consultant on voting rights cases. His publications include Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944–1969 (1976), In Pursuit of Power: Southern Blacks and Electoral Politics, 1965–1982 (1985), Civil Rights Crossroads: Nation, Community, and the Black Freedom Struggle (2003), and To Secure These Rights: The Report of President Harry S Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights (2004).

List of Images viii

Preface to the Fourth Edition x

Acknowledgments xiii

Abbreviations Used in the Text xiv

1 World War II and the Origins of the Freedom Struggle 1

2 Ballots, Boycotts, and the Building of a National Agenda 36

3 Surging Protest, Shifting Politics 72

4 Reenfranchisement and Racial Consciousness 108

5 The New Black Politicians: From Protest to Empowerment 150

6 Progress and Poverty: Politics in a Conservative Era 185

7 In Search of Legitimacy 221

8 Hope and Despair: The 1990s 258

9 Still Running for Freedom 298

10 Toward a “More Perfect Union”: The Obama Presidency 342

Bibliographical Essay 393

Index 429

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