Long (
I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters) offers a new look at civil rights leader Julian Bond (1940–2015). Bond was an influential activist and politician, helping to establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery before representing Georgia in the House and Senate. This edited collection introduces Bond through his own writings as well as selected interviews with the author, successfully capturing the leader’s evolving philosophy from the second half of the 20th century into the beginning of the 21st. Bond’s writings show the impact of his early decisions, including leaving Morehouse to become an activist along with his experiences with racism and with Jim Crow laws. The collection offers insight into Bond’s personal and professional triumphs and failures, along with his enduring legacy. Included is an afterword by historian Douglas Brinkley.
VERDICT The readability of Bond’s writings and the balance in the introductions make this an enjoyable, worthwhile, and essential volume that will appeal to a broad audience of readers interested in the civil rights movement and human rights overall, as well as to historians and political scientists.
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