
Why Not Every Man?
African Americans and Civil Disobedience in the Quest for the Dream
Ivan R Dee, Inc (Publisher)
Published on 14. June 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-56663-645-2 (ISBN)
Description
The record of civil disobedience by African Americans, which George and Willene Hendrick recount in Why Not Every Man?, begins soon after slaves were brought legally to the American colonies: they began to run away. Through the years of the abolitionists, the struggle against the Fugitive Slave Act, opposition to Jim Crow laws, and the emergence of the civil rights movement, blacks continued the peaceful protest of their inequality and lack of freedom. In addition to describing these often forgotten episodes, the Hendricks show how the idea of civil disobedience, first suggested in America by Henry David Thoreau, crossed oceans to influence Mohandas K. Gandhi, whose thinking in turn attracted a young divinity student named Martin Luther King, Jr. The impact of these ideas was to be profound, forming a central tenet in Dr. King's movement against segregation and for the civil rights of black Americans. The record of civil disobedience in the service of African Americans is not without its failures, but overall it has been a powerful weapon in their quest for a share of the American dream. This is a succinct history of that story.
Reviews / Votes
Again the Hendricks have produced a powerful work. Their important new book is welcome and timely for a broad audience. -- John David Smith, professor, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte The authors ably interweave the historical pre-conditions of nonviolent civil disobedience into a tapestry that forms the foundation for the modern civil rights movement. -- Vernon Ford * Booklist * A quick introduction to antislavery or black civil rights thinking. -- Thomas J. Davis * Library Journal * Smoothly written and powerful . . . an invaluable resource. * Kliatt * An excellent history of the idea of civil disobedience evolves within the civil rights framework. -- Diane C. Donovan, editor, Midwest Book Review * Midwest Book Review * George Hendrick and his wife, Willene, tackle a difficult subject with passion and clarity. * Illinois Alumni Magazine *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 205 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
551 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-56663-645-2 (9781566636452)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
George and Willene Hendrick are independent scholars and researchers who together have written The Creole Mutiny: A Tale of Revolt Aboard a Slave Ship and have edited Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Underground Railroad, Two Slave Rebellions at Sea, and several collections of Carl Sandburg's poems. George Hendrick, formerly professor of English at the University of Illinois, has also edited To Reach Eternity: The Letters of James Jones. The Hendricks live in Urbana, Illinois.