From Booklist
Deep in Our Hearts captures the recollections of nine white women actively involved in "The Movement" in the '60s. Each woman's experience was different (though some appear as relatively minor characters in other's stories), so these oral histories provide a range of perspectives on an important period. One major contribution of these narratives is dispelling stereotypes: the authors came from a variety of backgrounds (they weren't all "red diaper babies" from the East Coast) and have spent their post-Movement days in many professions, although virtually all remain committed to social justice. Full of vivid insights into what really happened during those troubled times. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Why did nine white women cross the color line in the days of segregation and join the Southern Freedom Movement? What did they see, do, think, and feel in those uncertain but hopeful days? And how did their experiences shape the rest of their lives? "These are brilliant and poignant stories that take us into the lives of a group of young white women who came of age in the era of the civil rights movement, participated actively and passionately in that movement, and were, in many ways, transformed by it. It is a human story that is sensitive, textured, multifaceted, and compelling. Overall, a stellar accomplishment." --Barbara Ransby 2001 Georgia Author of the Year Award, Creative Non-Fiction: Historical Division 2001 Finalist, ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award First time in paperback.
Deep in Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement FROM THE PUBLISHER
Why did nine white women cross the color line in the days of segregation to join the Southern Freedom Movement? What did they see, do, think, and feel in those uncertain but hopeful days? And how did their experiences shape the rest of their lives? These compelling first-person accounts take us back to one of the most tumultuous periods in our nation's history -- to the early days of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Albany Freedom Ride, voter registration drives and lunch counter sit-ins, Freedom Summer, the 1964 Democratic Convention, and the rise of Black Power and the women's movement.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
In these absorbing essays, nine white women write about their experiences in the Freedom Movement of the 1960s and how it shaped their lives. They come from diverse backgrounds: Southern and Northern, poor and middle-class. Each discusses how her upbringing prepared her for participation in the movement, the exhilaration of fighting for justice during Freedom Summer at sit-ins or registration drives, her grief when whites were later expelled from the movement, and the lasting impact of the movement on her life. Also interesting is each contributor's perspective on gender issues during the Civil Rights era and her individual response to the nascent women's movement. All of the authors were connected to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and knew each other slightly, which leads to some repetition of incidents when the book is read cover to cover. But, taken individually, each story is a powerful testament to a time when the goal of universal justice was in sight. An excellent choice for any library with a strong Civil Rights or women's studies collection.--Deirdre Bray Root, Middletown P.L., OH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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