Books like The abolitionist legacy by James M. McPherson

"This anthology of black writers traces the evolution of African-American perspectives throughout American history, from the early years of slavery to the end of the 20th century. The essays, manifestos, interviews, and documents assembled here, contextualized with critical commentaries from Marable and Mullings, introduce the reader to the character and important controversies of each period of black history." "The selections represent a broad spectrum of ideology. Conservative, radical, nationalistic, and integrationist approaches can be found in almost every period, yet there have been striking shifts in the evolution of social thought and activism. The editors judiciously illustrate how both continuity and change affected the African-American community in terms of its internal divisions, class structure, migration, social problems, leadership, and protest movements. They also show how gender, spirituality, literature, music, and connections to Africa and the Caribbean played a prominent role in black life and history."--BOOK JACKET.

Many mid 20th century American government programs created to help citizens survive and improve ended up being heavily biased against African-Americans. Katznelson documents this white affirmative action, and argues that its existence should be an important part of the argument in support of late 20th century affirmative action programs.

A historical account of the 1963 Birmingham Freedom March involving African American students seeking their civil rights and freedom, focusing on the arrest and jail time of the marchers.

An account of the life of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. based on personal interviews, his personal papers, FBI documents, etc.

Mary L. Dudziak’s analysis of how Cold War policies influenced civil rights in the United States.