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1 Southern Efficiency and Northern Charm The story o f African-American s an d thei r ques t fo r civi l rights i n th e twentieth century , th e subjec t o f thi s book , i s a stor y wit h dee p resonances. I t i s about nothin g les s than th e transformatio n o f African American citizens ' plac e i n America n society—constitutional , social , and cultural—an d i t tell s u s somethin g o f th e transformation s whit e society had to ask of itself. In a centur y wher e on e o f th e primar y theme s o f ar t ha s bee n th e relationship o f th e individua l an d society , th e continuousl y shiftin g for tunes o f African-America n citizen s i n America n societ y hav e prove d fertile subject s fo r argumen t an d discussion . Moreover , th e experienc e of African-American s make s a star k commen t o n a centra l parado x o f American history—ho w a natio n compose d o f suc h divers e ethnic group s and belief s coul d endur e an d survive . Thu s novelis t Jame s Baldwi n declared, "Th e stor y o f th e Negr o i n Americ a i s th e stor y o f America , or, mor e precisely , i t is the stor y o f Americans. " His mos t fundamenta l point seem s to have been that, a s the African-American experienc e move d from slaver y an d incarceratio n t o freedo m an d citizenship , African Americans were, ironically enough, especially privileged to articulate th e problems and preoccupations o f men and women i n modern society . The histor y o f th e nineteent h an d twentiet h centurie s ha s include d 3 BEFORE various nationa l struggle s fo r liberation , mas s migrations , an d bot h freedom o f politica l expressio n an d th e lack thereof. The fragmentatio n of societ y an d th e alienatio n o f th e individua l fro m societ y an d fro m himself o r hersel f ar e als o importan t cultura l phenomena . Becaus e o f their experiences , African-American s hav e bee n deepl y involve d i n an d have becom e identifie d wit h thes e things . The y hav e expresse d thei r responses i n words, in music, and i n their political struggl e fo r recogni tion and rights. They benefitted fro m thei r double alienation fro m Afric a and fro m America n societ y a t a tim e whe n Americ a wa s respondin g t o them an d becoming ready to meet them, at least culturally, on their ow n terms. What i s meant b y civil rights? Fo r the generations wh o witnessed th e apogee o f th e dram a i n th e Secon d Reconstructio n o f th e 1950 s an d 1960s, civi l right s ha d a ver y precis e meaning : the y wer e th e political , social, and economi c right s o f African-America n citizen s to vot e an d t o enjoy equalit y o f opportunit y i n education , employment , an d housing . This also entailed free acces s to places of public accommodation suc h a s parks, bars , cafe s an d restaurants , an d publi c transport . Th e essentia l means of the loose coalition w e call the civil rights movement to addres s its ends were litigation and demonstration, whether by rallies and marches, economic boycotts , o r debat e i n th e mas s media . However , suc h a precise definitio n o f civi l right s an d o f th e tactic s o f th e civi l right s movement mus t als o take int o accoun t th e social and cultura l conditio n of African-Americans—thei r locatio n an d dispersa l followin...

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