Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #431646 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-30
• Released on: 1999-03-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 800 pages

From Amazon.com
Like the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the civil rights movement has achieved mythical status in America--an epic tale of heroes and martyrs; of sacrifice, honor, and courage in the face of overwhelming odds; of ideals worth dying for in a time and place where death was an all-too-real possibility. In The Children, prize-winning journalist and author David Halberstam goes back in time to the beginnings of the civil rights movement in Nashville, Tennessee, tracing both the lives of the individuals who initiated it and the growth of the movement itself into its present-day status.

Every epic must have its hero, and The Children has James Lawson, a young, African American divinity student whose tactics in civil disobedience were learned at the knees of Mahatma Gandhi's followers during a three-year stint as a missionary to India. When he returned to the States and was accepted into the all-white Vanderbilt Divinity School, Lawson began teaching workshops to Nashville's African American youth designed to equip them for the equal-rights struggle, a battle Lawson believed could be won only with nonviolent tactics. Halberstam chronicles the fight against racism with the insight that comes from witnessing it first-hand. As a young journalist for the Tennessean in Nashville, he covered the rise of the civil rights movement, and in The Children he draws on many of his writings from the era. From accounts of lunch-counter sit-ins to the freedom rides, Halberstam's book covers the map of the crusade for racial equality, serving as a poignant reminder that heroes come in all ages, colors, and characters.

From Publishers Weekly
This re-creation of the early days of the civil rights movement by Halberstam (The Fifties) is at once intimate and monumental. By focusing on a small group of young African Americans who attended the Reverend James Lawson's workshop for nonviolent demonstrators in Nashville in 1959, then went on to play active roles in the movement, he hits the high points of the civil rights struggle and makes them immediate: the Nashville sit-ins; the founding of SNCC and CORE; the Freedom Rides; Bull Connor's attacks in Birmingham; the Klan in Memphis; the first singing of "We Shall Overcome"; the voter registration campaign; Bloody Sunday in Selma; and the march to Montgomery. As the group moves out of Nashville and encounters others in the movement, the book expands with the complexity, but fortunately not the imposed tidiness, of a Victorian novel. While some of the young people's names are familiar (e.g., Marion Barry, John Lewis), most are not, but the portraits of them and the society they lived in and challenged is richly detailed. Halberstam examines the subtle frictions within the movement (middle-class vs. poor, lighter-skinned vs. darker, male vs. female), as well as the often violent struggle against segregationists. A number of brief, informative essays are sandwiched in: on the sociology of all-white Vanderbilt University; the eccentricities of the Nashville newspapers; a history of city politics in Washington, D.C.; the role of the Kennedy Justice Department. Martin Luther King Jr. plays a minor part in this history because the subject is indeed the "children"?the young adults in their late teens or early 20s in 1960, the early idealists who experienced violence in the streets and saw their movement itself turn segregationist (whites were forced out). The last third of the book follows the professional development of the children into adulthood: there was a congressman, a major, several doctors and college professors, a high school teacher and a political gadfly. This book need not have been as long as it is. But it is a masterful achievement in reporting, research and understanding. In a concluding author's note, Halberstam writes of his own experiences as a young reporter covering the civil rights beat. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The story of several young black students ("the Children") who became Civil Rights leaders, as told by a Pulitzer Prize winner who has been covering them since he was a 25-year-old reporter in Nashville.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Noble Children, The Pride Of Our Nation, & Their Mission.
David Halberstam has written an epic history of the young men and women, most still in their teens, who had the courage and nobility of spirit to fight the unjust status quo of segregation, and change the course of our nation's history. This is the story of the civil rights movement in the United States, beginning in the late 1950s and reaching its height in the mid-1960s. The story is told from the eyes of these young people - it is the history they made. "The Children" frequently put their lives on the line, risking physical danger and even death, to join the non-violent protests that would give all Americans equal rights under the law.

The Movement's leaders were two black southern ministers, both strongly influenced by the teachings of Mahandas Gandhi. These two men, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jim Lawson, designed the framework of the mission. They stratagized like generals waging a unique war. Young college students, mostly African Americans, whose parents had sacrificed much to send them to university, were recruited as soldiers. These vulnerable and committed students were schooled in the nonviolent tradition, with workshops, such as: "Justice Without Violence" and "The New Negro In The New South." We meet these children and hear of their experiences in Nashville, Montgomery, Birmingham, Selma, and many other towns and small cities all over the South. Halberstam documents the background of these young troops, their families, and struggles, growing up Black in America. He movingly describes the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, and the terrible violence of the Klan, and of ordinary citizens, steeped in bigotry, that endangered all of them. We read about the voter registration campaigns, and the founding of SNCC and CORE. The moral, philosophical and political roots of the civil rights movement, and the divisiveness within the group as different ideologies emerged, are well documented, as is the death of Dr. King.

Halberstam draws an amazing portrait of Jim Lawson, whose fervor and dedication moved a generation of Americans to action. The author truly excels, however, in bringing to life the young people whose story this is. We are updated, toward the end of the book, on the lives of the young activists today. This incredibly moving history reads like a novel you don't want to put down. And while we read about a most shameful period in our nation's history, who can fail to be proud of the young citizens who took action to make such important changes?

Dr Luther King, John Lewis, Diane Nash, Jame Bevel, Powell
Sufferage, Voting Rights of 1965, Civil Right Act of 1964, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, James Bevel, Diane Nash, John Lewis, Bull Conner, Selma, Freedom riders, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Ghandi, Nonviolent protests, Frisk, Chicago, riots, children's crusade, Brown v. Board of Education, Bernard Lafayette, James Lawson, Nashville Mayor Ben West , Robert Kennedy, Rodney Powell, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, mayor Marion Barry, and Vanderbilt Divinity School.

The children is an excellent historical document highlighting the oppression and struggles of the black man, the nonviolent influence teachings of Ghandi, and the lives of early Black religious, political, and student leaders. Halberstam gets caught up in the movement and details the adventures, tradegies, struggles, and pain associated with the civil rights movement. The supreme court ruling in Brown v Board of Education starts the paving of the road against segregation. The struggle would not be easy as young black activist wanted more rights, rights not popular among the white community, right such as, to eat with caucasians, ride buses in non-segregated sections, attend movies without having to watch from the black only balcony, and vote limited by the literacy and discriminatory practices design to prevent eligibility for blacks. The movement for equal rights started slowly and was large based on Christian idealogy, "if they enemy strike thee on the check turn also the other cheek". Black religious leaders would draw from simple fundamental teachings of Christ and Ghandi about non-violent philosophy to encourage the black community to resist violence to achieve their objectives. The religious leaders could see the long term advantages to non-violent protests, knowning that militant approaches would lead to significant increases in death. The civil rights era was a time of danger, excitement, and determination. The black leaders believing the beating could not break down the spirit and they could rise above their attackers. If they were beaten down, they would be replaced, and show their undominatable determination.

As the movement grew diverse idealogies emerged leaving some of the black leaders disoriented about the groups commitment to non-violence. The first trumiphant event breaking the barrier of segration came as political pressure mounted against Mayor Ben West who commit to stop segregation and allow blacks and whites to eat together. James Bevel who involved both the older black generation who feared and submitted completely the white man and the children in protest marches. Halberstam seemed to believe this was the turning point for the movement as the older generation was ready to standup against their oppressors. If even the children could make a statement the movement was gaining force. An the movement would increase in the thousands from town to town and the media would follow the marches, beatings, speechs, and the unrest of a nation in disruption. Halberstams book of over 700 pages demostrates the amazing interest the media acquired while centering on the social changes threatening to break the social imperatives of the time. The intensity and interest was amazing.

The movement was to remain disciplined, non-violent, and legal. Individuals not willing to commit to the principles and practices of non-violence were not allowed to participate. Mr Luther King would not march against a court injunction until his lawyers cleared the injunction. The goal was non-violent protests. The struggle to gain Federal protection for the freedom riders did not come immediately. The freedom riders brought local law confrontation and klan involvement into the picture. Robert Kennedy right hand man a federal agent would be badly beaten. The battle lines were emerging between the Klan and the Federal government. Violence, death, and brutality characterized the protests of the freedom riders highlighted with numerous encounters with Bull Conner, a known member of the Klan, and general racist corruption controlling the police force. Halberstam struggles with explaining the issues preventing the Federal government from early involvement in civil right violations. Its seems the south even after a 100 years of emancipation struggled with the after effects of slavery. The social imperatives had not been redefined and the government seemed perplexed on how to influence change. The civil war had been won by the North but the idealogy remained very Southern. However, Dr. King would visionalize a future where the idealogy of the south and the world would be more tolerate and accepting of the black culture. The price to gain this freedom would require the deepest commitment from all of the black culture. Analogies to Dr. King being the Mose to liberate his people were often used to rally the black communities to action.

Dr King would become the figure head for the media to focus on. Dr King role in increasing black rights would be recognized by the black community. However, some would not feel so supportive and desire leaders by John Lewis to play a more promient role. The fundamentalism deriving the equal rights movement crowned in the confrontation between black activist and the white klan police force at Selma. The violence is appalling as Halberstam paints a picture of hugh waves of militant officers beating and club innocent men, women, and children in the act of prayer. This is an extremely painful depiction of suffering and determination. Dr King would attempt to rally support in Chicago but find a different culture and challenges. Dr Kings assassination was a sad moment in American History. Halberstam makes no conclusions about the black social problems today nor the long term benefits of the movement for the black community.

The Children That Changed a Nation
This book is an in depth look into the civil rights movement of the sixties. I really enjoyed the book because Halberstam went a long way in naming all of the players in the movement not just the famous ones such as Martin Luther King Jr. but figures such as Paul Lawson and Diane Nash. After reading the book you really get a feel of what all these leaders had to go through to earn themselves the rights that supposedly the constitution guaranteed them. He focuses on all aspects of the civil rights movement not just one aspects, so he really gives you a feel of how one event relates to another. This book is for anyone who is interested in history and the struggle that many endured in order to gain their place in it.