Children of the Movement: The Sons and Daughters of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad, George Wallace, Andrew Young, Julian Bon

While most people contemplate civil rights struggles in the""past tense,"" this is a luxury that offspring of the era's famous names cannot afford, says Blake, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter. The author spent two years tracking down the adult sons and daughters of the iconic leaders, lesser-known lieutenants, valiant activists and arch segregationists for these 24 brief, often emotional, occasionally predictable profiles. A few of the civil rights movement's second generation writhe under the weight of history, while others thrive on self-forged paths. For the sons of Martin Luther King Jr. and Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), the personal is always political as they confront unrelenting pressures to carry on their fathers' monumental works. The biracial daughters of Reverend James Bevel, an influential sit-in leader and protest organizer, bemoan their absentee father, a civil rights""Daddy Dearest"" who""speaks in political theory all the time"" and lambastes interracial relationships. Blake excels at uncovering the questions gnawing at his subjects. George Wallace's daughter wonders,""How do you explain your father to your own son?"" The child of Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown asks,""What do you do when the revolution never comes?"" Blake does not, however, attempt to answer these nagging questions. The final chapter, on""The New Radicals""--the anti-globalization leaders who claim inspiration from their parents' activism--presents a problematic coda. A mostly-white movement with global aims, this movement's battle in Seattle fails to rouse the same passion as earlier struggles in Selma and Atlanta. However, this slight diversion does not upstage an otherwise insightful study of civil rights figures through the eyes and lives of their children. 65 b & w photos