Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour

Jerome Carlos Johnson SOCI 3345 Sociology of the 1960s quintuplet Page Book Review postponement Til the Midnight hr by Peniel Joseph February 28, 2013 delay Til the Midnight sequence of day by Peniel Joseph Within the eleven chapters that comprise hold Til the Midnight Hour lays a treasure chest of in cast of charactersation for anyone interested in pitch rawness or African the Statesn history, particularly the well-bred rights campaign that took go under during the 1950s and 1960s. I am a self-professed scholar of African American history and I found an amazing amount of information that I was not aware of.Like near who claim to be foul muniment experts, I was aware of the roles of Martin Luther might, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey. However, I was not aware of the bear upon that so galore(postnominal) lesser known figures had in the cultivated rights endeavour. It was tonal to learn of the roles played by Harold Cruse, Arturo Schombur g, Richard Wright, Ella Baker and Robert F. Williams. Reading this maintain by all odds gave me a natural perspective on the civil rights movement and the legacies of its leaders. time lag Til the Midnight Hour took me on a journey through the disruptive events of the civil rights movement, as well as introducing me to key players in the movement of which I was previously unaware. In addition, the have served as an avenue of connecting the various segments and factions of the civil rights movement. The concord to a fault did a great job of presenting the nationwide vie of African Americans rather than focusing on one specific geographic area. It was a daunting task, barely the author did a great job of accurately placing all the pieces of the puzzle together that comprised the struggle for freedom.Through his writings in Waiting Til the Midnight Hour, Peniel Joseph did a great job of several(prenominal)iseing the stark difference surrounded by integrationists interchange able Martin Luther world-beater and nationalists (or separatists) like Malcolm X. Peniel Joseph was able to paint the stark contrast between the two major factions of the civil rights movement by exploring their beginnings several decades prior to the climax of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The book begins by detailing Malcolm Xs rise to prominence within the province Of Islam. The book clearly shows the strength that Malcolm X wielded in the African American community.In many ways this book provides solid evidence of my personal whim that Malcolm X was indeed a more powerful leader than Martin Luther in the African American community. Both men were charismatic and eloquent orators, alone Malcolm X had a much more commanding presence. Again, this is my personal opinion, but the book definitely paints a vivid picture of the abundant power that was held by Malcolm X. The book gives an excellent discourse on the different ideologic views of the two great leaders Malcolms m ilitant thinking of acquire nicety and equality by any means necessary versus the non-violent, Gandhi-like movement led by Dr.Martin Luther King. sequence King is mentioned often, the book is clearly more focused on Malcolm X and his great role in despicable black people from passive, non-violent methods towards more assertive methods of achieving racial justice and equality. The book provides information about Malcolm Xs history and background, which helped to better find his militant thinking. Malcolm X played a great role in the great shift in the methods used to fight for civil rights in the 1960s. Many lesser known leaders looked at Malcolm X as a role model. His legacy as a leader is save felt 48 years after his assassination.Malcolm served as inspiration to the down(p) Power Movement that took fire in the mid and late 1960s. another(prenominal) great thing about Waiting Til the Midnight Hour is the way it shows the geographical aspect of the struggle for racial equali ty. In great detail, the author highlights the whole kit and caboodle of civil rights leaders in major cities like Detroit but also gives a great deal of anxiety to the struggles of rural southerners. This allowed me to make a connection between the struggles of urban African Americans and blacks in the rural southern, and so seeing the entire picture more clearly.This book makes clear that the struggle for racial equality was nationwide and not just isolated to sure geographical locations. A common misconception about the civil rights movement is that insistent racism was a problem only encountered in the Deep South. However, Waiting Til the Midnight Hour does a great job of clarifying this misconception and showing the many elements of the struggle for justice that blacks from coast to coast experienced. One of the most elements of the book is the organic evolution of the organization called SNCC.SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was founded in conjunction wit h the luncheon counter sit0ins that originated in Greensboro, North Carolina in February 1960. SNCC activists were known to practice slow, muted and patient voter registration drives in the most dangerous move of the South. However, they seldom received credit for their efforts on a national level. patronage their lack of national attention, SNCC activists often managed to annoy white federal officials and black civil rights leaders.SNCC attracted radicals from the Revolutionary Action Movement, black nationalists from the North and a boniface of other mavericks. From its humble beginnings, SNCC was a peaceful group that used nonviolent methods to seek racial equality. Over the course of time, SNCC became more assertive in their methods of demanding racial equality and social justice. At the very center of the evolution of SNCC was a young man from Trinidad by the name of Stokely Carmichael. Perhaps the most affecting chapter in the book is chapter 7, which is entitled, What We Gonna Start Saying Now Is Black Power In this chapter we see the birth of the Black Power movement. This is a very powerful chapter for many reasons, including that in my opinion this is the point where the civil rights movement began to move toward a more assertive methodological analysis and Dr. Martin Luther King began to lose relevance. At first SNCC was an organization that believed in non-violent civil noncompliance but over time the organization became more militant. By 1965 it was limpid that Stokely Carmichael was leading the organization from its roots as a non-violent integrationist group toward a much more militant nationalist way of thinking.During the summer of 1966 attention shifted to the Mississippi Delta, which was a hotbed of racial discord. This is of special significance to me because my parents were both born(p) and reared in the Mississippi Delta. My grandfather shared many stories with me about the tumultuous 1960s in the Mississippi Delta. Most of those stories were horrific but Waiting Til the Midnight Hour put a whole new perspective on it by introducing me to the major players with great detail. In this chapter we see Dr. Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael in Mississippi during the time that JamesMeredith was embarking upon his March Against Fear. His plan was to march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi as a symbol of his defiance against the racial discrimination so normal in Mississippi. Meredith was famous for integrating the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) four years prior. While marching from Memphis to Jackson, James Meredith was shot in the neck, back and both legs. He was seriously injured but would eventually recover. This incident divided the civil rights activists in Mississippi.Stokely Carmichael, James Baldwin and LeRoi Jones were identified as provocateurs behind a growth trend of racial militancy. Officials from the Urban League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, CORE, the NA ACP and SNCC met to hash out joining the march in Mississippi as a form of protest against the shooting of James Meredith as well as commemorating the assassination of Medger Evers. The different organization leaders had opposing views on the methodology of implementing the march and therefore a long argument ensued.Eventually a agree was met. However, in the end, the more conservative leaders from the North refused to support the compromise that Dr. Martin Luther King and returned to New York after warning that the march would be a disaster. During the long march through the Mississippi Delta, Stokely Carmichael lost his patience with the racial climate of Mississippi. He was tired of the racial hatred and blatant discrimination. quest his release from jail (after his 27th arrest), Stokely Carmichael made his way to Broad street Park in Greenwood, Mississippi.In an impassioned speech, he told the crowd of tired and abstracted marchers that he had grown tired of the slow pace of the civil rights movement and his frustration had reached its boiling point. At that point he said the poignant words, what we gonna start sayin now is black power It was at that point that America began to recognize that many blacks throughout the nation had grown wary of the methods of Dr. Martin Luther King and his turn the other cheek way of thinking. The tide was turning and African Americans were ready to get their freedom and equality by any means necessary.From that day forward the slogan Black Power began to spread like wildfire. The Meredith March ended on June 26, 1966 as thousands of people gathered at the Mississippi State Capitol Building in Jackson. The burning of a unify flag on the capitol grounds by a SNCC member displace rousing applause. Dr. Martin Luther King struggled with the reality that the national political landscape whitethorn not be able to keep up with the pace of the new found black militancy. He confessed to the crowd that his dream had turned i nto a nightmare. King defiantly proclaimed that even in Mississippi justice will come to all of Gods children. Carmichael sounded a pass that was the polar opposite of that of Dr. King. Carmichael said that the movement must build a political base so powerful that blacks would bring them whites to their knees every time they mess with us. Carmichaels message began to resonate among black people across the nation and the mood among blacks began to shift from non-violent civil disobedience to that of militant defiance. therefrom the Black Power came into existence and dominated the political scene for the rest of the 1960s.