The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power by Ann Bausum

The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power by Ann Bausum tells the story of James Meredith’s 1966 200+ mile march from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. The purpose of the march was to represent the determination of African Americans in a discriminatory society, yet Meredith was shot by a gunman about a week into the march. As a result, other African American leaders (such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael) decided to hold the march on his behalf. They diverted from Meredith’s original planned route, but made voter registration one of their top priorities. Sometimes, police responded with violence, but the protestors remained nonviolent. At the finale of the march in Jackson, Mississippi, nearly 15,000 were present. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil Rights Movement.

Review by Ryan D.

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