This wonderful compendium offers further proof that "black history" is really the history of all Americans. The selections Williams and Beard have skillfully woven together reflect the astonishing richness of this subject. The result is an ingenious, compellingly readable sampling of historic events both well known and obscure, inspiring and appalling. It will satisfy those who inhabit this terrain as well as the interested tourist.--Diane McWhorter "Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Carry Me Home: Birmingham Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution"
Williams and Beard are both writers and editors who have specialized in civil rights and African American history, and they have written this catalog of major human rights events that correspond to each day of the year. Written for general audiences, this volume contains single-page descriptions ranging from the Emancipation Proclamation (issued on January 1, 1863) to poet Charles McKay's response to race riots on December 31, 1919. An introductory essay from the authors analyzes the debate on how to define the scope and timeline of the modern civil rights movement.--Shannon Hendrickson "Book News, Inc."