"Chronicling the underappreciated Black tradition of bearing arms for self-defense, law professor Nicholas Johnson presents an array of examples reaching back to the pre-Civil War era that demonstrate a willingness of African American men and women to use firearms when necessary to defend their families and communities. From Frederick Douglass's advice to keep "a good revolver" handy as defense against slave catchers to the armed Black men who protected...

"In 1931, nine teenagers were arrested as they traveled on a train through Scottsboro, Alabama. The youngest was thirteen, and all had been hoping to find something better at the end of their journey. But they never arrived. Instead, two white women falsely accused them of rape. The effects were catastrophic for the young men, who came to be known as the Scottsboro Boys. Being accused of raping a white woman in the Jim Crow south almost certainly...

Letters to Martin contains twelve meditations on contemporary political struggles for our oxygen-deprived society. Evoking Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," these meditations, written in the form of letters to King, speak specifically to the many public issues we presently confront in the United States-economic inequality, freedom of assembly, police brutality, ongoing social class conflicts, and geopolitics. Award-winning author...

In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black army sergeant on his way home to South Carolina after serving in WWII, was pulled from a bus for arguing with the driver. The local chief of police savagely beat him, leaving him unconscious and permanently blind. The shocking incident made national headlines and, when the police chief was acquitted by an all-white jury, the blatant injustice would change the course of American history. Based on Richard Gergel's book...

From the fearless resolve of a single woman to the remarkable voice of thousands marching, this History Channel special offers a stunning overview of one of America's greatest defining periods.

When a pampered white college student witnesses the brutal racial beating of a young black man at a rock 'n roll concert she decides to stand up for what she believes is right.

When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, the world mourned. Though just 39, King's work in the civil rights movement had already transformed American and world history. Readers will come to understand the gravity of King's sacrifice as well as discover surprising information, such as an early assassination attempt and an FBI investigation. Historical photographs and interesting sidebars add to the depth...

Profiles such prominent civil rights pioneers as Daisy Bates, the Freedom Riders, and Malcolm X, as they fought for equal rights. "The calling out of racism and racial injustice has become undeniably prevalent in the United States, but this wasn't always the case. During the civil rights movement, many black activists paved the way, advocating for social and legal action through means including sit-ins, protests, and marches. Ideologies and approaches...

The Watts riot and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s push for non-violence. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference establishes operations in Chicago, attempting to expand employment, educational and housing opportunities to the city's blacks. A raid in Detroit concludes five days after it begins with 43 people dead.

The rise of Malcolm X as a leader of black Americans; the establishment of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization; and James Meredith's "March Against Fear" from Memphis, TN, to Jackson, MS.