Liberian Literary Magazine Promoting Liberian literature , Arts and Culture fueled civil rights campaigns throughout the South that began during World War II and went through to the Black Power movement . The Montgomery bus boycott was the baptism , not the birth , of that struggle .
At the Dark End of the Street describes the decades of degradation black women on the Montgomery city buses endured on their way to cook and clean for their white bosses . It reveals how Rosa Parks , by 1955 one of the most radical activists in Alabama , had had enough . “ There had to be a stopping place ,” she said , “ and this seemed to be the place for me to stop being pushed around .”
Parks refused to move from her seat on the bus , was arrested , and , with fierce activist Jo Ann Robinson , organized a one-day bus boycott .
The protest , intended to last twenty-four hours , became a yearlong struggle for dignity and justice . It broke the back of the Montgomery city bus lines and bankrupted the company .
We see how and why Rosa Parks , instead of becoming a leader of the movement she helped to start , was turned into a symbol of virtuous black womanhood , sainted and celebrated for her quiet dignity , prim demeanor , and middle-class propriety — her radicalism all but erased . And we see as well how thousands of black women whose courage and fortitude helped to transform America were reduced to the footnotes of history .
Blood Brothers : The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X Randy Roberts & Johnny Smith
In 1962 , boxing writers and fans considered Cassius Clay an obnoxious self-promoter , and few believed that he would become the heavyweight champion of the world . But Malcolm X , the most famous minister in the Nation of Islam — a sect many white Americans deemed a hate cult — saw the potential in Clay , not just for boxing greatness , but as a means of spreading the Nation ’ s message . The two became fast friends , keeping their interactions secret from the press for fear of jeopardizing Clay ’ s career . Clay began living a double life — a patriotic “ good Negro ” in public , and a radical reformer behind the scenes . Soon , however , their friendship would sour , with disastrous and far-reaching consequences .
Based on previously untapped sources , from Malcolm ’ s personal papers to
FBI records , Blood Brothers is the first book to offer an indepth portrait of this complex bond . Acclaimed historians Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith reconstruct the worlds that shaped Malcolm and Clay , from the boxing arenas and mosques , to postwar New York and civil rights – era Miami . In an impressively detailed account , they reveal how Malcolm molded Cassius Clay into Muhammad Ali , helping him become an international symbol of black pride and black independence .
Yet when Malcolm was barred from the Nation for criticizing the philandering of its leader , Elijah Muhammad , Ali turned his back on Malcolm — a choice that tragically contributed to the latter ’ s assassination in February 1965 .
Malcolm ’ s death marked the end of a critical phase of the civil rights movement , but the legacy of his friendship with Ali has endured .
We inhabit a new era where the roles of entertainer and activist , of sports and politics , are more entwined than ever before . Blood Brothers is the story of how Ali redefined what it means to be a black athlete in America — after Malcolm first enlightened him .
An extraordinary narrative of love and deep affection , as well as deceit , betrayal , and violence , this story is a window into the public and private lives of two of our greatest national icons , and the tumultuous period in American history that they helped to shape .
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