Freedom Is a Constant Struggle
The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and Its Legacy
232 pages
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2 maps, 3 figures, 19 tables
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6 x 9
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© 2004
No part of the United States was more resistant to the civil rights movement and its pursuit of racial equality than Mississippi. Freedom Is a Constant Struggle explores the civil rights movement in that state to consider its emergence before the 1965 Voting Rights Act and its impact long after. Did the civil rights movement have a lasting impact, and, if so, how did it bring about change? Kenneth T. Andrews is the first scholar to examine not only the history of the movement but its social and political legacy as well. His study demonstrates how during the 1970s and '80s, local movements worked to shape electoral politics, increase access to better public schools, and secure the administration of social welfare to needy African Americans.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle is also the first book of its kind to detail the activities of white supremacists in Mississippi, revealing how white repression and intimidation sparked black activism and simultaneously undermined the movement's ability to achieve far-reaching goals. Andrews shows that the federal government's role was important but reactive as federal actors responded to the sustained struggles between local movements and their opponents. He tracks the mobilization of black activists by the NAACP, the creation of Freedom Summer, efforts to galvanize black voters, the momentous desegregation of public schools and the rise of all-white private academies, and struggles over the economic development of black communities. From this complex history, Andrews shows how the civil rights movement built innovative organizations and campaigns that empowered local leadership and had a lasting legacy in Mississippi and beyond.
Based on an original and creative research design that combines extensive archival research, interviews with activists, and quantitative historical data, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle provides many new insights into the civil rights struggle, and it presents a much broader theory to explain whether and how movements have enduring impacts on politics and society. What results is a work that will be invaluable to students of social movements, democratic politics, and the struggle for racial freedom in the U.S.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle is also the first book of its kind to detail the activities of white supremacists in Mississippi, revealing how white repression and intimidation sparked black activism and simultaneously undermined the movement's ability to achieve far-reaching goals. Andrews shows that the federal government's role was important but reactive as federal actors responded to the sustained struggles between local movements and their opponents. He tracks the mobilization of black activists by the NAACP, the creation of Freedom Summer, efforts to galvanize black voters, the momentous desegregation of public schools and the rise of all-white private academies, and struggles over the economic development of black communities. From this complex history, Andrews shows how the civil rights movement built innovative organizations and campaigns that empowered local leadership and had a lasting legacy in Mississippi and beyond.
Based on an original and creative research design that combines extensive archival research, interviews with activists, and quantitative historical data, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle provides many new insights into the civil rights struggle, and it presents a much broader theory to explain whether and how movements have enduring impacts on politics and society. What results is a work that will be invaluable to students of social movements, democratic politics, and the struggle for racial freedom in the U.S.
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"In this beautifully crafted study, Andrews . . . offers a compelling work of history and sociology. . . . Sociologically, the book is of tremendous worth for clarifying theoretical and methodological issues in the study of social movements and for advancing new insights. It is also an exemplary combination of quantitiative and qualitative analysis. . . . Whereas many scholars investigate the origins of social movements, Andrews delineates and assesses results, a decidedly more difficult endeavor that he handles with considerable skill. The author particularly concentrates on political participation, social welfare policies, school desegregation, and election of African Americans, devoting excellent chapoters to each."
“This is a work of great innovation and unprecedented scholarship. Kenneth Andrews makes several important and original contributions to our understanding of the civil rights movement and beyond. Freedom Is a Constant Struggle is likely to be viewed as the definitive work on the topic for years to come.”
"This book makes a real contribution to the growing literature on the civil rights movement and it gives us a greater understanding of how movements operate and their consequences. It alerts us to the importance of understanding the context in which movements take place. It is of value both to scholars who are familiar with the field, and it would be quite useful especially to graduate students both of movements and of politics."—Jack M. Bloom, Mobilization
"By examining the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi at the local level, and paying close attention to the social and political context out of which the movement emerged and grew, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle successfully shows how effective and innovative local organizations made a difference. . . . Indeed,
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle provides far-reaching insights and interpretations for the study of current social movements in the United States and across the globe."—Mary N. Oluonye, Journal of African American History
"An impressive accomplishment on many fronts. It contributes theoretically to our general understanding of the consequences of movements. It is methodologically innovative, sophisticated, and yet acessible to a wide audience of social scientists. . . . This book should be required reading for all social movement researchers. It should find a place on the syllabi of many graduate courses. . . . Activists will find in this book confirmation of the importance of organizing from the bottom up and new lessons on how to change society."—Michael P. Young, American Journal of Sociology
"The author's expertise on social movement literaturee, Mississippi politics, and the heights of the Mississippi civil rights movement is obvious, and his well-researched, well-written, multidisciplinary book will be useful for students and researchers in several fields. Andrews is a sociologist, but his book is also applicable for historical, political science, and sociological courses and research. His book also has an excellent theoretical and conceptual framework. . . . An excellent book of superior quality."—Sharon D. Wright Austin, Journal of Southern History
Contents
List of Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms and Descriptions for Organizations
1. Introduction
2. Explaining the Consequences of Social Movements
3. The Contours of Struggle
4. The Formation of Local Movement Trajectories in Mississippi
5. The Struggle for Political Power
6. The Politics of Poverty
7. Federal Authority, School Desegregation, and Countermobilization
8. The Acquisition of Political Power
9. Conclusion: The Legacies of the Civil Rights Movement
Appendix A: Study Design
Appendix B: Archival Collections
Appendix C: List of Interviews
Appendix D: Descriptions of Major Variables and Sources
References
Index
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms and Descriptions for Organizations
1. Introduction
2. Explaining the Consequences of Social Movements
3. The Contours of Struggle
4. The Formation of Local Movement Trajectories in Mississippi
5. The Struggle for Political Power
6. The Politics of Poverty
7. Federal Authority, School Desegregation, and Countermobilization
8. The Acquisition of Political Power
9. Conclusion: The Legacies of the Civil Rights Movement
Appendix A: Study Design
Appendix B: Archival Collections
Appendix C: List of Interviews
Appendix D: Descriptions of Major Variables and Sources
References
Index
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History: American History
Political Science: Political Behavior and Public Opinion
Sociology: Social Change, Social Movements, Political Sociology
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