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January Theme: Martin Luther King Jr., Digital Content

by James Gilmer on 2024-01-16T09:00:00-05:00 | 0 Comments

Join us in celebrating uniqueness! Choose from this curated selection of digital titles within Pfeiffer Library that feature Martin Luther King Jr. and his impact, all readily available at your fingertips:

Cover ArtSlavery and the Making of America by James Oliver Horton; Lois E. Horton

ISBN: 9781429440288

Publication Date: 2004

The history of slavery is central to understanding the history of the United States. Slavery and the Making of America offers a richly illustrated, vividly written history that illuminates the human side of this inhumane institution, presenting it largely through stories of the slaves themselves. Readers will discover a wide ranging and sharply nuanced look at American slavery, from the first Africans brought to British colonies in the early seventeenth century to the end of Reconstruction. The authors document the horrors of slavery, particularly in the deep South, and describe the slaves' valiant struggles to free themselves from bondage. There are dramatic tales of escape by slaves such as William and Ellen Craft and Dred Scott's doomed attempt to win his freedom through the Supreme Court. We see how slavery engendered violence in our nation, from bloody confrontations that broke out in American cities over fugitive slaves, to the cataclysm of the Civil War. The book is also filled with stories of remarkable African Americans like Sergeant William H. Carney, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at the crucial assault on Fort Wagner during the Civil War, and Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, a former slave who led freed African Americans to a new life on the American frontier. Filled with absorbing and inspirational accounts highlighted by more than one hundred pictures and illustrations, Slavery and the Making of America is a gripping account of the struggles of African Americans against the iniquity of slavery.

 

Cover ArtDr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Poor People's Campaign Of 1968 by Robert Hamilton

ISBN: 9780820358291

Publication Date: 2020-12-01

This book introduces new audiences to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final initiative, the multiracial Poor People's Campaign (PPC) of 1968. Robert Hamilton depicts the experience of poor people who traveled to Washington in May 1968 to dramatize the issue of poverty by building a temporary city, Resurrection City. His narrative allows us to hear their voices and understand the strategies, objectives, and organization of the campaign. In addition, he highlights the campaign's educational aspect, showing that significant social movements are a means by which societies learn about themselves and framing the PPC as an initiative whose example can teach and inspire current and future generations. The study thus situates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and teachings in relation to current events and further solidifies Dr. King's cultural and sociopolitical relevance. In the decades since 1968, we have seen increasing global inequality leading to greater social polarization, including in the United States. Hamilton offers the insight that the radical politics of Dr. King--as represented in the civil rights and human rights agendas of the PPC--can help us understand and address the challenges of this polarization. Hamilton highlights Dr. King's commitment to ending poverty and explains why Dr. King's ideas on this and related issues should be brought to the attention of a wider public who often view him almost exclusively as a civil rights, but not a human rights, leader.

 

Cover ArtProphet of Discontent by Jared A. Loggins; Andrew J. Douglas

ISBN: 9780820360164

Publication Date: 2021-05-15

This book is openly available in digital formats thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Many of today's insurgent Black movements call for an end to racial capitalism. They take aim at policing and mass incarceration, the racial partitioning of workplaces and residential communities, the expropriation and underdevelopment of Black populations at home and abroad. Scholars and activists increasingly regard these practices as essential technologies of capital accumulation, evidence that capitalist societies past and present enshrine racial inequality as a matter of course. In Prophet of Discontent, Andrew J. Douglas and Jared A. Loggins invoke contemporary discourse on racial capitalism in a powerful reassessment of Martin Luther King Jr.'s thinking and legacy. Like today's organizers, King was more than a dreamer. He knew that his call for a "radical revolution of values" was complicated by the production and circulation of value under capitalism. He knew that the movement to build the beloved community required sophisticated analyses of capitalist imperialism, state violence, and racial formations, as well as unflinching solidarity with the struggles of the Black working class. Shining new light on King's largely implicit economic and political theories, and expanding appreciation of the Black radical tradition to which he belonged, Douglas and Loggins reconstruct, develop, and carry forward King's strikingly prescient critique of capitalist society.

 

Cover ArtThe preacher King : Martin Luther King, Jr. and the word that moved America by Richard Lischer

ISBN: 9780190065133

Publication Date: 2020

This book investigates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s religious development from a precocious "preacher's kid" in segregated Atlanta to the most influential American preacher and orator of the twentieth century. To give an intimate portrait, the book draws almost exclusively on King's unpublished sermons and speeches, as well as tape recordings, personal interviews, and even police surveillance reports. By returning to the raw sources, it recaptures King's real preaching voice and, consequently, something of the real King himself. The book shows how as the son, grandson, and great-grandson of preachers, King early on absorbed the poetic cadences, traditions, and power of the pulpit, as profoundly influenced by his fellow African-American preachers as he was by Gandhi and the classical philosophers. The book also reveals a later phase of King's development: the prophetic rage with which he condemned American religious and political hypocrisy. During the last three years of his life, the book shows, King accused his country of genocide, warned of long hot summers in the ghettos, and called for a radical redistribution of wealth.

 

Cover ArtBreaking White Supremacy by Gary Dorrien

ISBN: 9780300231359

Publication Date: 2018-01-09

This magisterial follow-up to the Grawemeyer Award-winning The New Abolition explores the black social gospel's crucial second chapter "Magnificent . . . Breaking White Supremacy interweaves histories of families and institutions, of the black church and its storied presence, of African Americans in Africa and America, of ideas like nonviolence and socialism and uplift, and of the painfully varied ability of American Christianity to produce both a Howard University (or a Martin Luther King Jr.) and the need for them."--Jonathan Tran, Christian Century The civil rights movement was one of the most searing developments in modern American history. It abounded with noble visions, resounded with magnificent rhetoric, and ended in nightmarish despair. It won a few legislative victories and had a profound impact on U.S. society, but failed to break white supremacy. The symbol of the movement, Martin Luther King Jr., soared so high that he tends to overwhelm anything associated with him. Yet the tradition that best describes him and other leaders of the civil rights movement has been strangely overlooked. In his latest book, Gary Dorrien continues to unearth the heyday and legacy of the black social gospel, a tradition with a shimmering history, a martyred central figure, and enduring relevance today. This part of the story centers around King and the mid-twentieth-century black church leaders who embraced the progressive, justice-oriented, internationalist social gospel from the beginning of their careers and fulfilled it, inspiring and leading America's greatest liberation movement.

 

Cover ArtThe Chicago Freedom Movement : Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights activism in the north by Mary Lou Finley, Bernard LaFayette Jr., James Ralph Jr., and Pam Smith

ISBN: 9780813166513

Publication Date: 2016

Six months after the Selma to Montgomery marches and just weeks after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a group from Martin Luther King Jr.'s staff arrived in Chicago, eager to apply his nonviolent approach to social change in a northern city. Once there, King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined the locally based Coordinating Council of Community Organizations (CCCO) to form the Chicago Freedom Movement. The open housing demonstrations they organized eventually resulted in a controversial agreement with Mayor Richard J. Daley and other city leaders, the fallout of which has historically led some to conclude that the movement was largely ineffective. In this important volume, an eminent team of scholars and activists offer an alternative assessment of the Chicago Freedom Movement's impact on race relations and social justice, both in the city and across the nation. Building upon recent works, the contributors reexamine the movement and illuminate its lasting contributions in order to challenge conventional perceptions that have underestimated its impressive legacy.

 

Cover ArtConfluence of Thought by Bidyut Chakrabarty; Clayborne Carson (Foreword by)

ISBN: 9780199951215

Publication Date: 2013-08-09

While much has been written about the Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., never before has anyone compared the social and political origins and evolution of their thoughts on non-violence. In this path-breaking work, Bidyut Chakrabarty argues that there is a confluence between Gandhi and King's concerns for humanity and advocacy of non-violence, despite the very different historical, economic and cultural circumstances against which they developed their ideas. At the same time, he demonstrates that both thinkers were truly shaped by their historical moments, evolving their approaches to non-violence to best advance their respective struggles for freedom. Gandhi and King were perhaps the most influential individuals in modern history to combine religious and political thought into successful and dynamic social ideologies. Gandhi emphasized service to humanity while King, who was greatly influenced by Gandhi, pursued religion-driven social action. Chakrabarty looks particularly at the way in which each strategically used religious and political language to build momentum and attract followers to their movements. The result is a compelling and historically entrenched view of two of the most important figures of the twentieth century and a thoughtful meditation on the common threads that flow through the larger and enduring nonviolence movement.

 

Cover ArtCivil Rights in America by Christopher W. Schmidt

ISBN: 9781108426251

Publication Date: 2020-12-17

The term 'civil rights' has such a familiar presence in discussions about American politics and law that we tend to use it reflexively and intuitively, but rarely do we stop to think about what exactly we mean when we use the term and why certain uses strike us as right or wrong. In this book, Professor Christopher W. Schmidt tells the story of how Americans have fought over the meaning of civil rights from the Civil War through today. Through their struggles over what it means to live in a nation dedicated to protecting civil rights, each generation has given the label new life and new meaning. Civil Rights in America shows how the words we use to understand our world become objects of contestation and points of leverage for social, political, and legal action.

 

 

Cover ArtGraphic Memories of the Civil Rights Movement by Jorge Santos

ISBN: 9781477318287

Publication Date: 2019-05-15

Winner, Charles Hatfield Book Prize, Comic Studies Society, 2020 A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, 2019 The history of America's civil rights movement is marked by narratives that we hear retold again and again. This has relegated many key figures and turning points to the margins, but graphic novels and graphic memoirs present an opportunity to push against the consensus and create a more complete history. Graphic Memories of the Civil Rights Movement showcases five vivid examples of this: Ho Che Anderson's King (2005), which complicates the standard biography of Martin Luther King Jr.; Congressman John Lewis's three-volume memoir, March (2013-2016); Darkroom (2012), by Lila Quintero Weaver, in which the author recalls her Argentinian father's participation in the movement and her childhood as an immigrant in the South; the bestseller The Silence of Our Friends, by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, and Nate Powell (2012), set in Houston's Third Ward in 1967; and Howard Cruse's Stuck Rubber Baby (1995), whose protagonist is a closeted gay man involved in the movement. In choosing these five works, Jorge Santos also explores how this medium allows readers to participate in collective memory making, and what the books reveal about the process by which history is (re)told, (re)produced, and (re)narrativized. Concluding the work is Santos's interview with Ho Che Anderson.

 

Cover ArtThe Civil Rights Movement by John A. Kirk (Editor)

ISBN: 9781119583622

Publication Date: 2020-04-03

A new civil rights reader that integrates the primary source approach with the latest historiographical trends Designed for use in a wide range of curricula, The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader presents an in-depth exploration of the multiple facets and layers of the movement, providing a wide range of primary sources, commentary, and perspectives. Focusing on documents, this volume offers students concise yet comprehensive analysis of the civil rights movement by covering both well-known and relatively unfamiliar texts. Through these, students will develop a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of the origins of the movement, its pivotal years during the 1950s and 1960s, and its legacy that extends to the present day. Part of the Uncovering the Past series on American history, this documentary reader enables students to critically engage with primary sources that highlight the important themes, issues, and figures of the movement. The text offers a unique dual approach to the subject, addressing the opinions and actions of the federal government and national civil rights organizations, as well as the views and struggles of civil rights activists at the local level. An engaging and thought-provoking introduction to the subject, this volume: Explores the civil rights movement and the African American experience within their wider political, economic, legal, social, and cultural contexts Renews and expands the primary source approach to the civil rights movement Incorporates the latest historiographical trends including the "long" civil rights movement and intersectional issues Offers authoritative commentary which places the material in appropriate context Presents clear, accessible writing and a coherent chronological framework Written by one of the leading experts in the field, The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader is an ideal resource for courses on the subject, as well as classes on race and ethnicity, the 1960s, African American history, the Black Power and economic justice movements, and many other related areas of study.

 

Cover ArtPassing of the Civil Rights Act Of 1964 by Xina M. Uhl

ISBN: 9781629697499

Publication Date: 2015-08-01

This title will inform readers about the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The title will discuss those involved, such as John F. Kennedy--who spoke about civil rights in 1963--as well as Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and more. Vivid details, well-chosen photographs, and primary sources bring this story and this case to life. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

 

 

Cover ArtTrayvon Martin, Race, and American Justice by Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner (Volume Editor); Rema E. Reynolds (Volume Editor); Katrice A. Albert (Volume Editor); Lori Latrice Martin (Volume Editor)

ISBN: 9789462098428

Publication Date: 2014-11-04

This collection of short and powerful chapters is at times angering and at times hopeful, but always thought provoking, critical, and poignant. This interdisciplinary volume is well suited for undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty in sociology, social work, law, communication, and education.

 

 

 

Cover ArtDeadly Injustice by Devon Johnson (Editor); Amy Farrell (Editor); Patricia Y. Warren (Editor); Lawrence D. Bobo (Foreword by)

ISBN: 9781479873456

Publication Date: 2015-12-11

The murder of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin and the subsequent trial and acquittal of his assailant, George Zimmerman, sparked a passionate national debate about race and criminal justice in America that involved everyone from bloggers to mayoral candidates to President Obama himself. With increased attention to these causes, from St. Louis to Los Angeles, intense outrage at New York City's Stop and Frisk program and escalating anger over the effect of mass incarceration on the nation's African American community, the Trayvon Martin case brought the racialized nature of the American justice system to the forefront of our national consciousness. Deadly Injustice uses the Martin/Zimmerman case as a springboard to examine race, crime, and justice in our current criminal justice system. Contributors explore how race and racism informs how Americans think about criminality, how crimes are investigated and prosecuted, and how the media interprets and reports on crime. At the center of their analysis sit examples of the Zimmerman trial and Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law, providing current and resonant examples for readers as they work through the bigger-picture problems plaguing the American justice system. This important volume demonstrates how highly publicized criminal cases go on to shape public views about offenders, the criminal process, and justice more generally, perpetuating the same unjust cycle for future generations. A timely, well-argued collection, Deadly Injustice is an illuminating, headline-driven text perfect for students and scholars of criminology and an important contribution to the discussion of race and crime in America.

 

Cover ArtMaking All Black Lives Matter by Barbara Ransby

ISBN: 9780520966116

Publication Date: 2018-08-28

"A powerful -- and personal -- account of the movement and its players."--The Washington Post "This perceptive resource on radical black liberation movements in the 21st century can inform anyone wanting to better understand . . . how to make social change."--Publishers Weekly The breadth and impact of Black Lives Matter in the United States has been extraordinary. Between 2012 and 2016, thousands of people marched, rallied, held vigils, and engaged in direct actions to protest and draw attention to state and vigilante violence against Black people. What began as outrage over the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin and the exoneration of his killer, and accelerated during the Ferguson uprising of 2014, has evolved into a resurgent Black Freedom Movement, which includes a network of more than fifty organizations working together under the rubric of the Movement for Black Lives coalition. Employing a range of creative tactics and embracing group-centered leadership models, these visionary young organizers, many of them women, and many of them queer, are not only calling for an end to police violence, but demanding racial justice, gender justice, and systemic change. In Making All Black Lives Matter, award-winning historian and longtime activist Barbara Ransby outlines the scope and genealogy of this movement, documenting its roots in Black feminist politics and situating it squarely in a Black radical tradition, one that is anticapitalist, internationalist, and focused on some of the most marginalized members of the Black community. From the perspective of a participant-observer, Ransby maps the movement, profiles many of its lesser-known leaders, measures its impact, outlines its challenges, and looks toward its future. 

 

Cover ArtWhitewashing Race by Michael K. Brown; Martin Carnoy; Elliott Currie; Troy Duster; David B. Oppenheimer

ISBN: 9780520394605

Publication Date: 2023-01-03

In an updated new edition of this classic work, a team of highly respected sociologists, political scientists, economists, criminologists, and legal scholars scrutinize the resilience of racial inequality in twenty-first-century America.   Whitewashing Race argues that contemporary racism manifests as discrimination in nearly every realm of American life, and is further perpetuated by failures to address the compounding effects of generations of disinvestment. Police violence, mass incarceration of Black people, employment and housing discrimination, economic deprivation, and gross inequities in health care combine to deeply embed racial inequality in American society and economy.   Updated to include the most recent evidence, including contemporary research on the racially disparate effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, this edition of Whitewashing Race analyzes the consequential and ongoing legacy of "disaccumulation" for Black communities and lives. While some progress has been made, the authors argue that real racial justice can be achieved only if we actively attack and undo pervasive structural racism and its legacies.


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