On the heels of Black History Month, three new titles and a new series make excellent additions to the subject area. At the River I Stand is the powerful story of the 1968 Memphis strike, when 1300 sanitation workers--who were so grossly underpaid that full-time workers still qualified for welfare--walked off the job, gained the backing of the international union AFSCME, fought a bitter battle with the city's aloof white leadership, and eventually enlisted the aid of Martin Luther King. Jr. Using archival film footage, stills, and interviews with key figures such as the Rev. James Lawson, as well as city council members from the period, At the River I Stand draws an inspiring portrait of people demanding their fair share of justice and dignity, capsulized in the simple placard worn by striking picketers reading "I am a man." In April, after one unsuccessful march marred by violence, King returned to Memphis where he gave the brilliant and chilling "I've been to the mountaintop" speech the evening before his assassination. Narrated by veteran actor Paul Winfield, At the River I Stand is an excellent examination of the circumstances surrounding King's assassination, and a reminder that while the proposed march ended in tragedy, the Memphis sanitation workers case did indeed end in victory, less than two weeks after King's death.The second set in the Black Americans of Achievement series (the first 12 titles were reviewed in our June 1992 issue) maintains the same high standards set by the opening volumes. We watched Muhammad Ali, which combined interviews with historians, stills, and fight footage to tell the story of the greatest boxer of our time. Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali became interested in boxing as a teen, and scored victories in the 1959 Golden Gloves championships and the Olympic Games the following year. Embarking on a professional career, Cassius Clay renounced his Christian name and took the name of Muhammad Ali following his conversion to the Nation of Islam in 1964. His career was put on ice when he refused to fight in the Vietnam War because of his religious convictions, and the World Boxing Association stripped him of his title. Ali would be vindicated both in the court and in the ring: the Supreme Court would later rule in his favor, and the self-proclaimed "Greatest" would win the heavyweight title an unprecedented three times. Combining extraordinary skill and speed with clever psychological ploys (his poetic tauntings were legendary), the outspoken Ali defied easy categorization: pugilist and pacifist, Ali indeed floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. He also stuck to his beliefs. Muhammad Ali is another outstanding entry in the series. The other new titles are: James Baldwin, Mary McLeod Bethune, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Matthew Henson, Langston Hughes, Elijah Muhammad, Jesse Owens, and Alice Walker.A wonderful adjunct to the Black Americans of Achievement series, a History of Slavery in America and a History of the Civil Rights Movement are both excellent one-volume introductions to their respective subjects. Using woodcuts, paintings, and photos, interwoven with interview clips from historians and scholars, a History of Slavery in America begins with the first shipment of slaves to Jamestown in 1619, and chronicles the growth of the plantation system in the South, the development of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 (which greatly increased the need for labor), the fiery revolt by the slave Nat Turner in 1831, the rise of the abolitionist movement, the roles of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman in championing freedom for slaves, the bloody Civil War, and the long-awaited Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 which legally ended the institution of slavery. a History of the Civil Rights Movement continues the story with the emergence of Jim Crow laws in the South which ensured that black citizens would receive unequal treatment; the devastating Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision in 1896 which made segregation the law of the land; the differently-focused efforts to bring about social justice of Booker T. Washington (an advocate education and work), W.E.B. DuBois (a philosopher and activist), and Marcus Garvey (who led the back to Africa movement); and the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision of 1954 which denounced the "separate but equal" doctrine. This decision set the stage for civil rights struggles beginning with Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger the following year, and continuing though the movements led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. While neither program is intended to offer the in-depth treatment of Eyes on the Prize and Eyes on the Prize II, both are superb overviews which will serve as excellent introductions.At the River I Stand is highly recommended. The Black Americans of Achievement Collection II, a History of Slavery, and a History of the Civil Rights Movement in America are all highly recommended and Editor's Choice's. (R. Pitman)
At the River I Stand; Black Americans Of Achievement Video Collection II; The History Of the Civil Rights Movement; The History Of Slavery In America
(1993) 59 min. $49: public libraries; $195: schools & universities. California Newsreel. PPR. Vol. 9, Issue 2
At the River I Stand; Black Americans Of Achievement Video Collection II; The History Of the Civil Rights Movement; The History Of Slavery In America
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