The Fight for Freedom
A Memoir of My Years in the Civil Rights Movement
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
After class that day in June, I got behind the wheel of my ’56 Chevy and started back to my father’s house, intending to have lunch, change my clothes, and go to work later in the afternoon. I turned onto Washington Street and started up the hill, not thinking of anything in particular, just looking around, feeling relaxed and enjoying the day. As I neared the peak of the hill, I noticed two people standing in a yard talking. I slowed down because it struck me that something was unusual about the two people, a young white man and an elderly black woman. I realized as I drew closer that what was different was the young man’s body language. The way that he was talking to the woman showed a profound respect that was not typical of the way whites usually talked to black people. I don’t know why, but I pulled over to the curb, stopped the car, and just sat there for several minutes until they finished their conversation. As he said goodbye to the woman and headed towards the next house, I opened the door and got out of the car. I called out to him, “Can I speak to you for a moment? Can I ask you a question?” The question hadn’t been on my mind as I sat there in the car, but for some reason, there it was on the tip of my tongue. I asked, “Are you some kind of civil rights worker?” This was a huge gamble for me, because if I had misread the situation, I could have put my life in danger just by asking the question. I had no reason to think that he might be a civil rights worker other than the respect that he was showing this woman. Fortunately for me, he responded by saying “Yes, I am.”
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
In the summer of 1965, an eighteen-year-old boy, filled with frustration and anger at the injustices of the segregated society in his hometown of Troy, Alabama, volunteers to help Civil Rights workers sent to Alabama by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as part of a campaign to register black people to vote. A few short months later, he finds himself in Atlanta, standing in the sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church being interviewed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for a position on SCLC’s field staff. As a young foot soldier in the Civil Rights Movement, author John Reynolds was an eyewitness to history. In The Fight for Freedom, he shares his experiences in some of the hot spots of that day, such as Selma, Birmingham, and Mississippi. A passionate and dedicated soldier, Reynolds was jailed more than twenty times and beaten on numerous occasions as he went through some of the toughest battles of the movement and played a role in awakening the national conscience and redeeming the soul of America. “The revealing, relevant, coming-of-age tale of a man and a nation. Tracing his years in the civil rights movement, Reynolds offers an insider’s view of the people, events and tactics that brought the United States closer to the fulfillment of the founders’ promise that ‘all men are created equal.’ Although this account concerns a time now past, it’s nonetheless a timely reminder that citizens should always be ready to fight the good fight.” –Excerpt from Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
John Reynolds is an ordained American Baptist minister, serving as a pastor in Rhode Island for twelve years. Born in Alabama, he spent seven years with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, working with Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy. Reynolds lives near Charleston, South Carolina.