Soon after the summer of 1966, the council was disbanded. By this time revolutionary blacks were no longer trying to maintain any façade of unity. The “civil rights” phase of our struggle had ended and the time had come when the Uncle Tom leaders had to be exposed for what they were, misleading thousands of black people in the rank and file.
It was always an illusion to believe that groups with antithetical ideological positions can build a solid base of unity that will sustain itself. At best there can be efforts at cooperation on limited objectives for limited periods of time. The Council on United Civil Rights Leadership was a coalition for the purpose of acquiring more funds for the major civil rights groups. It was a fund-raising gimmick, based on the fact that civil rights had become a very popular issue in this country, and many forces sought ways to support (or use) the moral thrust of the movement. At the same time, the historical differences and approaches inherent in the various organizations made it impossible for a group of spokesmen at the top to work out patterns of lasting unity. (pg. 370)
This eloquent and provocative autobiography, originally published in 1972, records a day by day, sometimes hour by hour, compassionate account of the events that took place in the streets, meetings, churches, jails, and in the people’s heart and minds in 1960s Civil Rights Movement.
Honestly if you have not read this book, then you know very little about the struggle of African people in the United States during the so-called “civil rights movement” era, and why it led many Africans engaged in struggle to conclude that the only solution to our colonial oppression was revolution. This book details the ins and outs of the civil rights struggle from a straight up raw account of political struggle, — not from some idealistic and conciliatory white liberal perspective. This book is evocative—when you read about the life of Georgia Mae Turner, and about the fact that African people were so dehumanized by white folks to the point that we had no idea where we came from on earth (see page 142). Unless you are not in touch with your humanity you can see very well how Black revolutionaries are made.
We implore those who want to know the true history of the Civil Rights Movement, and how we got to where we are today (neocolonial crazy as hell), to read this book by James Forman. It is unequivocally a step in the right direction.
