Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-196) and index.

Uses eyewitness accounts, contemporary narratives, and personal anecdotes to present a portrait of black abolitionists and reformers. The term civil rights movement calls to mind the nation-wide effort, spearheaded by Martin Luther King Jr., during the 1950s and 1960s to end racial segregation and racial injustice in the United States. But the struggle for citizenship rights for African Americans predates King's movement by almost two hundred years. This anthology comprises the firsthand experiences of black civil rights advocates before King.