Reviews with content warning for Racism - At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power

I watched the 2017 documentary "The Rape of Recy Taylor" on Hulu and wanted more information on both Taylor and other subjects addressed in the film. After a Google search, I found that this book was the book I should investigate. I have to admit I was a little worried about reading a book focused on race written by a white woman (of which I am one) as writing about something you do not experience often leads to a lack of perspective. Nevertheless, because of reviews I read online, I decided to roll the dice and check this book out of the library and I am glad that I did. McGuire does a good job of addressing how sexual violence played a role in the development of the civil rights movement.

Synopsis: McGuire covers a large area of history in the United States with information from Reconstruction to the mid-1970s. The central focus of each chapter is one (or often several) case studies of women who experienced sexual violence and discrimination in various contexts and how the court cases that these women waged in response to those events helped motivate and organize Civil Rights groups helmed by Black women.

Thoughts: I took Advanced Placement History in High School and I am not saying that to show off, but to highlight the fact that nearly all the information in this entire book was new to me. And what is more terrifying is that there is a movement in schools across the United States to teach less of this history. We need more books/documentaries/media like McGuire's work, not less.

This was a difficult book to read because the central focus is on survivors of rape and sexual violence, but the experiences of these survivors and so many others should not be erased simply because the subject is hard. Also, the way in which McGuire tells the story really highlights how white people need to confront their past and the ways in which they contribute to oppression. EVERYONE (but especially white people) needs to read this work and investigate other works like it.

Content Warnings