Julian Bond’s Time to Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement

This revelatory collection of classroom lectures by UVA history professor and Georgia state senator Bond (1940–2015) shines a spotlight on lesser-known aspects of the civil rights movement. Expertly edited by Horowitz, Bond’s wife, and Brooklyn College political science professor Theoharis (A More Beautiful and Terrible History), his former teaching assistant, the pieces challenge the “master narrative” of the movement: “Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, then the white folks saw the light and saved the day.” Bond details how thousands of young, poor, and working-class protestors applied the pressure that led to school integration and the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, among other milestones, and notes that liberal white politicians, including John and Robert Kennedy, resisted the movement in its earliest days. Bond also pays tribute to numerous grassroots leaders, many of them women; reveals affinities between the civil rights, Black Power, and antiapartheid movements; and details disagreements between SNCC, the NAACP, and other civil rights organizations. Elegant photos by SNCC photographer Danny Lyon and an extensive bibliography compiled by Bond complement the eye-opening history. The result is a worthy contribution to the historical record and an inspirational guide for today’s social justice activists. (Jan.)