Foot Soldiers for Democracy
Edited by Horace Huntley and John W. McKerley
Foot Soldiers for Democracy is a collection of the oral histories of 29 ordinary men and women – from teachers and college students to domestic workers, war veterans and a leader with the Black Panthers – who risked their lives to fight for racial equality. While their stories and perspectives are diverse, every narrative illustrates the passion of individuals determined to end segregation, the risks they took, and the fear they overcame in the face of threats of violence from white supremacists, the police, politicians and others bent on maintaining the white power structure. The oral histories are taken from the archives of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Through these stories, historians Horace Huntley and John W. McKerley bring to life the people who helped transform American society. (University of Illinois Press)