This text contains a range of speeches that reflect the passion and determination of black activists and their white allies in the Civil Rights years. Although mainly aimed at students of rhetoric, the book may also appeal to those interested in the black freedom struggle of the 1950s and 1960s.

By 1965, southern blacks had achieved first-class citizenship under the laws of the land, in spite of the oratorical tirades and the ugly violence of southern white supremacist demagogues. The rhetoric and leadership of many black grassroots activists, along with a solid cadre of white support, created an environment in which the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally leveled the playing field.

Introduction
"The Whites Have Absolute Control of the State Government, and We Intend at Any and All Hazards To Retain It": Why There Had to be a Civil Rights Movement
The River of Change: Beginning to Question the Racist System, 1920s to 1940s
Black Southerners Challenge the System, the 1950s: The Movement Begins
The Movement Hits Full Stride: The 1960s
"Betrayers of Their Race": White Liberals
"There Always Has to be a Faubus....": White Resistance and the Rhetoric of Fear.