Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation…One day we will have to stand before the God of history and we will talk in terms of things we’ve done.”
Juan Williams, Senior Correspondent for NPR and political analyst for Fox News escorts us on a moving walk through the lives of the men and women he has interviewed about the Civil Rights Movement. From the Freedom Rides, to the bombing of a church in Birmingham, to the Japanese Internment Camps during WWII, and further to the Women’s Movement, Gay Rights, environmental cleanup, and Latino and Native American equality struggles. Each stop on the journey making us more conscious of the impact of discrimination and limitations on the lives of everyone we meet and every step we take.
No one can take us on this difficult journey better than those who have experienced first hand the battle. Williams introduces us to them and lets them tell their stories in strong voices with powerful messages. Brutality, death, physical and emotional pain, hopes and dreams for the future are all tightly woven through this touching collection of narratives.
Sadly nothing about this book is shocking. We know how far we have come -- far -- but not far enough. As Marian Wright Edelman reminds us on the final page of this inspiring book, “The God of history is still watching us. How will we answer?”
~review by Denise Bell
Author: Juan Williams
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. 2004
214 pp. $19.95
