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A review by jwier85
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch
5.0
Just an incredible book. It brings the civil rights movement to life in an almost uncomfortable way. The direct action sequences (notably the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Freedom Ride, James Meredith enrolling in Ole Miss and Project C in Birmingham) provide so much drama as the action reverberates in state capitols and DC that it’s easy to get swept up in the intrigue and forget that these were people beaten, terrorized and even killed just for demanding the most basic of rights — the right to vote, sit at a lunch counter or choose your seat on a bus.
But it really brings home just how violently people opposed the civil rights movement. It’s also eerie how much echoes through today’s protests, whether through conspiracies that the demand for rights provides cover for socialist plot to undermine America, protestors derided as violent rabble-rousers who should just obey the law (yes, even MLK), or law enforcement inciting violence rather than working to keep the peace.
I’m going to need something lighter before I dive into the second book in Branch’s trilogy, but I’m also eager to continue on. It’s such a monumental achievement.
But it really brings home just how violently people opposed the civil rights movement. It’s also eerie how much echoes through today’s protests, whether through conspiracies that the demand for rights provides cover for socialist plot to undermine America, protestors derided as violent rabble-rousers who should just obey the law (yes, even MLK), or law enforcement inciting violence rather than working to keep the peace.
I’m going to need something lighter before I dive into the second book in Branch’s trilogy, but I’m also eager to continue on. It’s such a monumental achievement.