Weary Feet, Rested Souls:
A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement
I BY TOWNSEND DAVIS
~ Forty years ago in homes,
Shops, schools, meeting hails, and
xhurches across the American
^Sputh, African Americans began
-the most profound political and
-social reformation of our time ?
?riie civil rights movement for
'racial equality. In these ordinary
-Eocales, they wrote sermons,
"speeches, and newsletters. They
organized demonstrations, boy
cotts, and law suits. They suffered
Unemployment, incarceration,
"violence, and, for some, death.
Today, only three movement
sites in the South are designated
by the federal government as
national historic landmarks ? the
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery, the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr.'s home and
church in Atlanta, and Central
High School in Little Rock.
But what of the many equally
important places where countless
African Americans and their allies
labored to spread their cause? In
Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A
Guided History of the Civil Rights
Movement, (W.W. Norton; Jan.
19, 1998; $27.50), author
Townsend Davis highlights hun
dreds of sites ? some well-known
and some far off the beaten track
? where civil rights history was
made. He also provides an up-to
date description of newly built
museums and monuments that
commemorate the movement and
its heroes.
Weary Feet. Rested Souls orga
nizes a wealth of information in
an easy-to-read format. It is a
travel guide through the seven
states in which the most pivotal
events of the Movement took
place ? Alabama, Arkansas,
Georgia, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and
Tennessee. Introductory essays
give the historical background of
each location, followed by
descriptions of particular sites, as
well as items of interest over
looked by the casual traveler.
w
Drawing on more than 100 new
interviews and field work covering
30,000 miles, Weary Feet, Rested
Souls offers many sites never
before featured in print, in addi
tion to those that are fixed in
America's collective memory.
Among the most important sites
are the following:
? The Empire Theater bus stop
in Montgomery, Ala., where the
arrest of Rosa Parks ignited a
year-long; bus boycott in 1955.
? The Woolworth's store in
Greensboro, N.C., where a sit-in
at the lunch counter by four
African-American college stu
dents in I960 pioneered a new
form of protest against racial seg
regation.
? The grave of James Chaney,
whose brutal slaying along with
two other civil rights workers in '
1964 outside Philadelphia, Miss.,
prompted a national outcry.
? Highway 80 between Selma
and Montgomery, Ala., site of a
triumphant five-day march in
1965 that solidified the drive for
new voting rights laws.
?The Progressive Club, site of
the first Movement-supported cit
izenship classes that spread
through the deep South to teach
reading and civil rights in the early
1960s, which still stands on a
remote road on Johns Island, S.C.
? Kelly Ingram Park in
Birmingham, Ala., where in 1963,
young marchers faced dogs and
powerful water hoses. Today it
features sculptures capturing the
event and a large civil rights muse
um nearby.
? The Mason Temple and
Lorraine Motel in Memphis,
where Dr. King gave his last
speech and was fatally shot in
April 1968.
Twenty-five original maps pin
point the exact location of the
sites, while 109 powerful pho
tographs taken both during the
movement and the present day
illustrate the text. The site descrip
tions are accompanied by expla
nations of intriguing movement
topics, such as the gripping jour
ney of the Freedom Riders and
the origin of the anthem "We
Shall Overcome."
As Davis describes in brilliant
detail, these issues and events con
tinue to haunt these historic land
marks. Throughout Weary Feel,
Rested Souls are letters, epitaphs,
newspaper articles, civil rights
pamphlets, sermons, speeches,
and songs, all of which sound out
the many voices heard during that
time. Davis also provides useful
guides> such as a movement
chronology of events, a list of civil
rights laws, and a detailed index.
"My feet are weary, but my
soul is rested," said an old woman
named Mother Pollard, as she
declined a stranger's offer to give
her a ride during the Montgomery
bus boycott. Weary Feet, Rested
Souls allows readers to literally
walk in the footsteps of the extra
ordinary men and women who
worked, suffered, and rejoiced
during the civil rights movement/'"
Chronicling the back roads and
battlegrounds of the movement,
Davis provides readers with both
an armchair history of the strug
gle and an indispensable compan
ion for those traveling to the deep
South in search of our nation's
turbulent past.
Townsend Davis is a writer
and lawyer living in New York
City. His articles have appeared in
the New Republic, the Los Angeles
Times, and the Charlotte
Observer.
" With this book,
Davis has given us a key
to historic Southern
worlds that will be a
priceless treasure for
every American.
? William Ferris, chairman of the
National Endowment of the Humanities
and Director of the Center for the Study of
Southern Culture
Carrying on a tradition
1
In 1994 Jam** Smith frightJ opened hit first McDonald's restaurant in Houston, Texas, wWi 11-year-old
Adrian (loft) by his side, fourteen years later, Adrian Is following In his father's footsteps. He is
currently In McDonald's Second Generation program, through which he will soon own his own
McDonalds* restaurant.
Adrian still helps out at his father's McDonald's and takes pride in being involved in all areas of the
restaurant business. His father, James, currently owns and operates three restaurants in North
Carolina, and is proud to support his son's business development.
Kids enjoy BARNEY show
Thanks to Flo Livingston of the Laurence
Joel Coliseum and promoters of the Barney's Big
Surprise show, held Sunday, Dec. 14.
Hanes Hosiery gym recreation center partic
ipants, staff and volunteers attended the Mbig
show" and had a wonderful time. The kids, rang
ing in ages from 3 to 11, were delighted and excit
ed, as they shared the "true Christmas spirit," by
<r '
1
Laughing, hugging, singing along for all of the
famous Barney songs, and sharing candy, pop
corn and drinks.
It was a beautiful day and was truly enjoyed
by all. Just to see the kids eyes light up with
gleam and joy made it a "magical day" with
Barney.
Elite Social Club to sponsor benefit dance
Mmmbmr$ of Hi* Slito Social Club Inc. arm onco again proparing for Hi* club't annual Holiday Bonofit
Danco, which will bo hold Saturday, Doc. 27, at tho Bonton Convontion Contor in Wintton-Salom from
10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mutic will bo providod by Arthur Oray Production?. Procoodt from tho ovont will bo
ditportod among local charitiot. Tick oft may bo purchatod from any mombor.
' +
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