Yale University Library Research Guides: African American Religious History: Civil Rights Era

Civil Rights and Religion

African American Religion and the Civil Rights Movement in Arkansas (Online) by Johnny E. Williams Focusing on the state of Arkansas as typical in the role of ecclesiastical activism, his book argues that black religion from the period of slavery through the era of segregation provided theological resources that motivated and sustained preachers and parishioners battling racial oppression.
Faith in Black Power: Religion, Race, and Resistance in Cairo, Illinois (Online) by Kerry Pimblott Looks at the United Front, a black power organization founded and led by Reverend Charles Koen, that mobilized in Cairo, IL.
Methodists and the Crucible of Race, 1930-1975 by Peter C. Murray Looks at how the United Methodist Church dealt with the racial conflict centered in the South.
Witnessing and Testifying: Black Women, Religion, and Civil Rights (Online) by Rosetta E. Ross After a chapter exploring black women's religious context and presenting early examples of this work by women of the ante-bellum and post-Reconstruction eras, Ross looks at seven civil rights activists who continue this tradition. They are Ella Josephine Baker, Septima Poinsette Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Way DeLee, Clara Muhammad, Diane Nash, and Ruby Doris Smith Robinson.

Oxford Bibliographies: Civil Rights Movement (Online) Includes extensive lists of primary sources, digital and physical archives, as well as information on the historiography of the civil rights movement.

Heart of Atlanta: Five Black Pastors and the Supreme Court Victory for Integration by Ronnie Greene Reveals the saga of the case's rise to the US Supreme Court, which unanimously rejected the segregationists, and the role of black ministers in this case.
Southern White Ministers and the Civil Rights Movement (Online) by Elaine Allen Lechtreck Traces the efforts of white ministers who--deeply moved by the struggle of African Americans--looked for ways to reconcile the history of discrimination and slavery with Christian principles and to help their black neighbors.
To Do Justice: The Civil Rights Ministry of Reverend Robert E. Hughes by Randall C. Jimerson Traces the life and career of an admirable and lesser-known civil rights figure who fought injustice on two continents.
Visions of a Better World: Howard Thurman's Pilgrimage to India and the Origins of African American Nonviolence by Quinton Dixie; Peter Eisenstadt Analyzes Howard Thurman's trip to India and meeting Mahatma Gandhi, and the impact the meeting had on his religious vision and how he was convinced of the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance.

Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David J. Garrow An exhaustive, meticulously researched study that emphasizes narrative over analysis. It won a Pulitzer Prize.
But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle (Online) by Glenn T. Eskew Eskew examines differences between the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Fred Shuttlesworth, who led its Birmingham affiliate the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, during the civil rights campaign of 1963 in the city. Eskew favorably contrasts Shuttlesworth’s uncompromising stand for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr. who “accommodated the desires of the establishment while compromising the demands of the movement.”
To Redeem the Soul of America: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King, Jr. by Adam Fairclough A well-written, thought-provoking history and analysis of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Jr. that also examines the organization in the first years after King’s assassination.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Poor People's Campaign Of 1968 by Robert Hamilton Looks at the strategies, objectives, and organization of the Poor People's Campaign. In addition, it highlights the campaign's educational aspect, showing that significant social movements are a means by which societies learn about themselves and framing the PPC as an initiative whose example can teach and inspire current and future generations.
Freedom Church of the Poor: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign by Colleen Wessel-McCoy Roots King's political vision solidly in his theological ethics and traces the spirit of the campaign in the community and religious leaders who are responding to the devastating crises of inequality today.
King and the Other America: The Poor People's Campaign and the Quest for Economic Equality (Online) by Sylvie Laurent; William Julius Wilson (Foreword by) Argues that the Poor People's Campaign was the logical culmination of King's influences and ideas, which have had lasting impact on young activists and the public.
To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice by Michael K. Honey Goes beyond the iconic view of Martin Luther King as an advocate of racial harmony to explore his profound commitment to the poor and working class, and his call for "non-violent resistance" to all forms of oppression, including economic injustice.

Divine Agitators: The Delta Ministry and Civil Rights in Mississippi (Online) by Mark Newman Newman tells the story of the Delta Ministry, inaugurated in 1964 by the National Council of Churches, to assist the African American poor in parts of Mississippi. By 1967, the ministry maintained the largest field staff of any civil rights group in the South, but budget and staff cuts in 1971 substantially reduced its operations.
From Every Mountainside: Black Churches and the Broad Terrain of Civil Rights (Online) by R. Drew Smith Looks at overlooked issues in the Civil Rights Movement and seeks to explores its historical roots.
Richmond's Priests and Prophets: Race, Religion, and Social Change in the Civil Rights Era by Douglas E. Thompson Explores the ways in which white Christian leaders in Richmond, Virginia navigated the shifting legal and political battles around desegregation even as members of their congregations struggled with their own understanding of a segregated society