Freedom's Sword The NAACP and the Struggle Against Racism in America, 1909-1969

A grass roots organization founded in 1909 by white liberals appalled by racial violence, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has fought more battles and won more successes for African Americans than any other group in the twentieth century.
"Freedom's Sword is the first history to detail the remarkable, lasting achievements of the NAACP's first sixty years. From its pivotal role in overturning the Jim Crow laws in the South to its twenty-year court campaign that culminated with Brown v. the Board of Education, the NAACP has been at the forefront of the struggle against American racism. Gilbert Jonas, a fifty-year veteran of the organization, tracks America's political and social landscape period by period, as the NAACP grows to 400,000 members and is recognized by both blacks and whites as the leading force for social justice.
Jonas recounts the historic combined efforts of ordinary citizens and black leaders such as W.E.B. Dubois, James Weldon Johnson, and Thurgood Marshall to root out white-only political primaries, separate schools, and segregated city buses. Freedom's Sword is a vivid and passionately written account of the single most influential secular organization in black America.

Freedom's Sword is the first history to detail the remarkable, lasting achievements of the NAACP's first sixty years. From its pivotal role in overturning the Jim Crow laws in the South to its twenty-year court campaign that culminated with Brown v. the Board of Education, the NAACP has been at the forefront of the struggle against American racism. Gilbert Jonas, a fifty-year veteran of the organization, tracks America's political and social landscape period by period, as the NAACP grows to 400,000 members and is recognized by both blacks and whites as the leading force for social justice. Jonas recounts the historic combined efforts of ordinary citizens and black leaders such as W.E.B. Dubois, James Weldon Johnson, and Thurgood Marshall to root out white-only political primaries, separate schools, and segregated city buses. Freedom's Sword is a vivid and passionately written account of the single most influential secular organization in black America.

Foreword by Julian Bond Introduction 1. Creating a Change Agent: the NAACP's Early Years 2. The Law As a Weapon Against Unjust Laws 3. Southern Retaliation Against Negro Determination 4. Leading the African-American Quest for Political Power 5. Comes the Revolution: The Struggle Between the NAACP and the Communist Party USA 6. World War II and Its Consequences for Race 7. The Politics of Political Advancement 8. Revolution at the Ballot Box 9. Black Workers, White Unions and the Struggle for Job Equality 10. Head-to-Head with the Garment Workers Union 11. The End of Pretense: Organized Labor Refuses to Desegregate 12. Roy Wilkins: The Gentle Giant 13. The NAACP Develops Financial Muscle Epilogue

Gilbert Jonas is a civil rights activist and journalist who has worked with the NAACP for over fifty years.