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To find books in Simpson Library, use the library search box.
Each book in the catalog is tagged with subject terms that describe what the book is about. To search these subject terms, select “Subject” from the drop-down menu. Here are a few relevant subject terms to get you started:
If you'd rather browse the shelves, the best place to start is on the third floor of Simpson Library. Books on African American topics are shelved at call numbers E 185.2 through E 185.98.
These books may be checked out. To check out a book in Simpson Library, take it to the Circulation Desk on the first floor, and use your EagleOne card. If you are not affiliated with UMW, you can check out books if you apply for a Guest Patron card.
Freedom, When? by
James Farmer’s first book, published in 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement. In this book, Farmer describes the state of race relations in America, and lays out his philosophy of nonviolent resistance. He also recounts his experiences as a civil rights leader, from the founding of CORE to the Freedom Rides. An invaluable resource for any Farmer scholar.
Lay Bare the Heart by
Also available as an eBook
Texas native James Farmer is one of the "Big Four" of the turbulent 1960s civil rights movement, along with Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young. Farmer might be called the forgotten man of the movement, overshadowed by Martin Luther King Jr., who was deeply influenced by Farmer's interpretation of Gandhi's concept of nonviolent protest. Born in Marshall, Texas, in 1920, the son of a preacher, Farmer grew up with segregated movie theaters and "White Only" drinking fountains. This background impelled him to found the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942. That same year he mobilized the first sit-in in an all-white restaurant near the University of Chicago. Under Farmer's direction, CORE set the pattern for the civil rights movement by peaceful protests which eventually led to the dramatic "Freedom Rides" of the 1960s. In Lay Bare the Heart Farmer tells the story of the heroic civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. This moving and unsparing personal account captures both the inspiring strengths and human weaknesses of a movement beset by rivalries, conflicts and betrayals. Farmer recalls meetings with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson (for whom he had great respect), and Lyndon Johnson (who, according to Farmer, used Adam Clayton Powell Jr., to thwart a major phase of the movement). James Farmer has courageously worked for dignity for all people in the United States. In this book, he tells his story with forthright honesty. First published in 1985 by Arbor House, this edition contains a new foreword by Don Carleton, director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, and a new preface.
Freedom Riders by
Also available as an eBook
They were black and white, young and old, men and women. In the spring and summer of 1961, they put their lives on the line, riding buses through the American South to challenge segregation in interstate transport. Their story is one of the most celebrated episodes of the civil rights movement, yet a full-length history has never been written until now. In these pages, acclaimed historian Raymond Arsenault provides a gripping account of six pivotal months that jolted the consciousness of America.The Freedom Riders were greeted with hostility, fear, and violence. They were jailed and beaten, their buses stoned and firebombed. In Alabama, police stood idly by as racist thugs battered them. When Martin Luther King met the Riders in Montgomery, a raging mob besieged them in a church. Arsenault recreates these moments with heart-stopping immediacy. His tightly braided narrative reaches from the White House--where the Kennedys were just awakening to the moral power of the civil rights struggle--to the cells of Mississippi's infamous Parchman Prison, where Riders tormented their jailers with rousing freedom anthems. Along the way, he offers vivid portraits of dynamic figures such as James Farmer, Diane Nash, John Lewis, and Fred Shuttlesworth, recapturing the drama of an improbable, almost unbelievable saga of heroic sacrifice and unexpected triumph.The Riders were widely criticized as reckless provocateurs, or "outside agitators." But indelible images of their courage, broadcast to the world by a newly awakened press, galvanized the movement for racial justice across the nation. Freedom Riders is a stunning achievement, a masterpiece of storytelling that will stand alongside the finest works on the history of civil rights.
Parting the Waters by
A history of the civil rights movement that concentrates on the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Voices of Freedom: an Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1980s by
A companion volume to the PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize. Contains hundreds of interviews with people who participated in the civil rights movement. A section of the book is devoted to the Freedom Rides, and one interview is with James Farmer.
Oh, Freedom!: Kids Talk About the Civil Rights Movement with the People Who Made It Happen by
Transcripts of kids’ interviews with civil rights activists. Includes an interview with James Farmer.
Freedom Rider Diary: Smuggled Notes from Parchman Prison by
Also available as an eBook
A first-hand account -- a.k.a. a primary source -- written by a white Freedom Rider.
Arrested as a Freedom Rider in June of 1961, Carol Ruth Silver, a twenty-two-year-old recent college graduate originally from Massachusetts, spent the next forty days in Mississippi jail cells, including the Maximum Security Unit at the infamous Parchman Prison Farm. She chronicled the events and her experiences on hidden scraps of paper which amazingly she was able to smuggle out. These raw written scraps she fashioned into a manuscript, which has waited, unread for more than fifty years. Freedom Rider Diary is that account. Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States in 1961 to test the US Supreme Court rulings outlawing segregation in interstate bus and terminal facilities. Brutality and arrests inflicted on the Riders called national attention to the disregard for federal law and the local violence used to enforce segregation. Police arrested Riders for trespassing, unlawful assembly, and violating state and local Jim Crow laws, along with other alleged offenses, but they often allowed white mobs to attack the Riders without arrest or intervention. This book offers a heretofore unavailable detailed diary from a woman Freedom Rider along with an introduction by historian Raymond Arsenault, author of the definitive history of the Freedom Rides. In a personal essay detailing her life before and after the Freedom Rides, Silver explores what led her to join the movement and explains how, galvanized by her actions and those of her compatriots in 1961, she spent her life and career fighting for civil rights. Framing essays and personal and historical photographs make the diary an ideal book for the general public, scholars, and students of the movement that changed America.
An Eyewitness History of the Civil Rights Movement by
Three hundred and fifty pages of primary sources about the civil rights movement, including letters, speeches, newspaper articles, and press releases.
Explores the history of civil rights movements in the United States, with entries on the political, social, and cultural issues faced by African Americans.
Autobiography of a Freedom Rider by
In the segregated Deep South when lynching and Klansmen and Jim Crow laws ruled, there stood a line of foot soldiers ready to sacrifice their lives for the right to vote, to enter rooms marked "White Only," and to live with simple dignity. They were called Freedom Riders and Thomas M. Armstrong was one of them. This is his story as well as a look ahead at the work still to be done. June, 1961. Thomas M. Armstrong, determined to challenge segregated interstate bus travel in Mississippi, courageously walks into a Trailways bus station waiting room in Jackson. He is promptly arrested for his part in a strategic plan to gain national attention. The crime? Daring to share breathing space marked "Whites Only." Being of African-American descent in the Mississippi Deep South was literally a crime if you overstepped legal or even unspoken cultural bounds in 1961. The consequences of defying entrenched societal codes could result in brutal beatings, displacement, even murder with no recourse for justice in a corrupt political machine, thick with the grease of racial bias. The Freedom Rides were carefully orchestrated and included both black-and-white patriots devoted to the cause of de-segregation. Autobiography of a Freedom Rider details the strategies employed behind the scenes that resulted in a national spectacle of violence so stunning in Alabama and Mississippi that Robert Kennedy called in Federal marshals. Armstrong's burning need to create social change for his fellow black citizens provides the backdrop of this richly woven memoir that traces back to his great-grandparents as freed slaves, examines the history of the Civil Rights Movement, the devastating personal repercussions Armstrong endured for being a champion of those rights, the sweet taste of progressive advancement in the past 50 years, and a look ahead at the work still to be done. Hundreds were arrested for their part in the Freedom Rides, Thomas M. Armstrong amongst them. But it is the authors' quest to give homage to "the true heroes of the civil rights movement . . . the everyday black Southerners who confronted the laws of segregation under which they lived . . . the tens of thousands of us who took a chance with our lives when we decided that no longer would we accept the legacy of exclusion that had robbed our ancestors of hope and faith in a just society."
Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders by
The original police mugshots of all eighty Freedom Riders who were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi. Each mugshot is paired with a photo of the Freedom Rider as he or she is today. The Riders’ personal stories are told through interviews and short biographies.
Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories by
Powerful, first-person stories of the struggle for freedom, told by people who were children during the civil rights movement. Includes several eyewitness accounts of the Freedom Rides.
Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution by
Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Chronicles the Civil Rights era in Birmingham, Alabama. Includes detailed descriptions of the Freedom Riders’ experiences in Alabama.
Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965 by
A companion book to the PBS documentary of the same name. Covers the major events of the Civil Rights years. Includes a chapter on the Freedom Rides, with a transcript of an interview with James Farmer.
These books are part of Simpson Library's ebook collection. To read a book, just click on it. You may be asked to log in with your UMW username and password.
Lay Bare the Heart by
Farmer’s autobiography. Published in 1985, this book remains the best source for information about Farmer’s life and works.
Freedom riders: 1961 and the struggle for racial justice by
The complete story of the Freedom Rides. Includes a roster of all 436 Freedom Riders, listing each Rider’s name, race, sex, age, hometown, and occupation. Also includes photographs, maps, and a bibliography.
Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides by
The complete story of the Freedom Rides. Similar to Freedom Riders by Raymond Arsenault, but with a greater focus on politics and historical context.
These books present James Farmer's story to a younger audience. Readers of all ages might find these books useful for the photographs they contain.
Freedom Rides: Journey for Justice by
Freedom Rides: Journey to Justice is a thorough review of the monumental struggle to end segregation in public transportation in America. James Haskins vivid detail and moving descriptions bring to life the sacrifice and bravery of the people who tested the Supreme Court decisions that legally desegregated U.S. buses and trains. In presenting famous civil rights leaders and introducing lesser-known heroes, this volume provides a balanced and insightful discussion of what the Freedom Rides were, and why they were so important to the civil rights movement, and to the history of our nation.
James Farmer and the Freedom Rides by
The story of the Freedom Riders and their leader, James Farmer, who dedicated his life to the struggle for civil rights.
James Farmer: Civil Rights Leader by
Gr 7-10-- As was true for Martin Luther King, Farmer's trademark has been a nonviolent approach to seeking change. This volume delves into his background and relates how he was instrumental in shaping the course of civil rights, and how he organized the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942. Sklansky examines the impact of Farmer's leadership and activism, the internal problems of CORE, and the various directions of action he has sought since leaving that organization in the 1960s. The overall portrayal of the man is fair and credible. Numerous black-and-white photographs relate quite closely to the text. This biography brings to life a figure whose contributions are not often highlighted in books on the civil rights movement. A list for further reading is included. --Jeanette Lambert, LaVega School, Waco, TX
Reference books provide short overviews of various topics. At the ends of the articles, you'll often find recommendations for further reading. They may not be checked out, but you can make scans or photocopies of articles you find in reference books.
Reference books are located on the first floor of Simpson Library, to the left of the Research Help Desk.
African American Lives by
Also available as an eBook
African American Lives offers up-to-date, authoritative biographies of some 600 noteworthy African Americans. These 1,000-3,000 word biographies, selected from over five thousand entries in the forthcoming eight-volume African American National Biography, illuminate African-American history through the immediacy of individual experience. From Esteban, the earliest known African to set foot in North America in 1528, right up to the continuing careers of Venus and Serena Williams, these stories of the renowned and the near forgotten give us a new view of American history. Our past is revealed from personal perspectives that in turn inspire, move, entertain, and even infuriate the reader. Subjects include slaves and abolitionists, writers, politicians, and business people, musicians and dancers, artists and athletes, victims of injustice and the lawyers, journalists, and civil rights leaders who gave them a voice. Their experiences and accomplishments combine to expose the complexity of race as an overriding issue in America's past and present.; African American Lives features frequent cross-references among related entries, over 300 illustrations, and a general index, supplemented by indexes organized by chronology, occupation or area of renown, and winners of particular honors such as the Spingarn Medal, Nobel Prize, and Pulitzer Prize.
Conflicts in American History: a Documentary Encyclopedia by
For more than four centuries, new ideas, principles, and events have caused major conflicts in American history - concerning such vital issues as slavery, freedom, democracy, immigration, and equality. It is through these very conflicts that American history is taught, and increasingly, this history is being taught through documents. From introducing slavery and breaking away from England in the colonial period to the Civil War in the 19th century, the civil rights movement in the 20th century, and the war in Iraq today, every era has been marked by conflicts in which Americans have fought passionately for what they believed in. All of these conflicts have defined what America is, and all of them can be studied through historical documents. ""Conflicts in American History: A Documentary Encyclopedia"" explores the conflicts, controversies, and ideas that have made American civilization unique and distinctive. Blending narrative essays and primary sources, this new, comprehensive eight-volume encyclopedia provides students with the background they need to understand American history and the skills required to read and interpret the important documents that have shaped our nation. Each volume focuses on one distinct chronological era and the conflicts that defined it. Consisting of 15-20 manageable chapters, with each chapter devoted to one specific conflict and containing 10-15 original documents, every volume begins with a general overview essay that introduces the major conflicts, issues, and controversies of the period, as well as key figures and events. A chronology and a bibliography are included in each chapter. Each volume of the encyclopedia features approximately 250-350 original documents, a master bibliography, and a lengthy appendix with biographical sketches of 50-100 individuals mentioned in the documents or central to the period. A master index is included for the entire set in the final volume.
Contemporary Black Biography by
Volume 2 of this series has an excellent four-page article about James Farmer, with a useful bibliography.
Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-First Century by
Also available as an eBook
Includes a two-page article about James Farmer and a three-page article about the Freedom Rides, both with good bibliographies.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas by
Includes short articles on James Farmer and the Freedom Rides.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Twenty-First Century by
Includes articles on James Farmer and the Freedom Rides, both with bibliographies. The primary documents section contains the text of Boynton v. Virginia (the Supreme Court case that sparked the Freedom Rides) and an excerpt from Farmer's autobiography Lay Bare the Heart.
Notable Black American Men by
Includes an excellent four-page article about James Farmer, with a useful bibliography.
In the University Archives are 34 books that belonged to James Farmer. The copies in the Archives are the same copies that were in Farmer's possession.
Here is a list of these 34 books.
To view these books, contact the Archives staff at archives@umw.edu.