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A journalist who told the story of the Civil Rights movement with his camera, such as Martin Luther King Jr's march from Montgomery to Selma, Ala. As a member of the White House Photographers Association, Sorrell's career spanned nine presidents. He received last year's African American Photographers Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, which will now be named after him. He died June 22 at age 84. From This is True for 21 June 1998 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Bob Adelman List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.77  By: Manning MarableLeith Mullings List Price: $49.95 Amazon Price: $32.97 Editorial Review: While the civil rights movement in America is officially recognized as the period between 1954-1968 ("beginning" on May 17, 1954 when the United States Supreme Court ruled on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, a decision that outlawed segregation in public schools, through to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968), the struggle actually began long before that. The barbarity of slavery in the American colonies was protested against as far back as the seventeenth century, though it was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the resistance built momentum. This photographic journey of the African-American struggle for equality begins with abolitionists like Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery in 1849 and went on to help others to freedom, and continues to the present. This book chronicles the battle to eradicate slavery through the Civil War (1861-1865) and, then once slavery was officially outlawed, it traces the evolution of its dual!legacy#151;segregation and racism. The struggle for freedom and equal rights involves small acts of personal bravery and sweeping proclamations of legal and moral import; it is the stuff of economics, war, tradition, despair, politics, hope, activism, vigilance and violence. It engages black and white, heroes and the unheralded, public acts of protest and private moments of introspection.  By: Tonya Bolden List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $15.96 Editorial Review: Coretta Scott King–Honor Winner Tonya Bolden focuses her critical eye on Martin Luther King, Jr. In the tradition of her award-winning book Maritcha, Tonya Bolden brings words and pictures together to tell the life story of one of America’s greatest figures: Martin Luther King, Jr.—or M.L.K. Central to the story is King’s belief that agape—the selfless love for one’s neighbor—is the rope that binds all peoples together. This philosophy came forward in his sermons, in his daily practice, and especially in his support of nonviolent protests. More than 80 photographs of M.L.K. preaching, leading marches, being arrested, and overcoming the violence and prejudice around him are juxtaposed with images of his wife and family, of his fellow protestors, and of other leaders of the day. A tribute to a great human being, M.L.K. will surely inspire young readers.  List Price: $39.95 Amazon Price: $32.80  By: Kerry Kennedy List Price: $34.95 Amazon Price: $22.72 Editorial Review: Anonymous wears a black shroud and a hangman's noose. Unnamed and masked, perhaps he or she will avoid the fate suggested in the haunting photograph that graces the cover of this remarkable book. Anonymous is one of the mostly unsung heroes interviewed by Kerry Kennedy Cuomo who are fighting for human rights in places where torture, imprisonment, and death are the side effects of speaking out against such atrocities as child soldiers, sex slavery, honor killings, and repression of political rights. In Anonymous's case, teaching Sudanese women their rights where a civil war is being waged by Islamic extremists could land him or her in a "ghost house" of torture, or, if lucky, in prison for an undetermined amount of time. In an age when heroes seem almost a thing of the past, these 51 human rights defenders demonstrate that real moral courage is alive and well on planet Earth. As Kennedy Cuomo writes in her introduction, these are the Martin Luther Kings of the world, and "courage, with its affirmation of possibility and change, is what defines them." For instance, there is Ka Hsaw Wa, who, after hearing stories of horrific torture and abuse from Burmese villagers, took the bold step of bringing a lawsuit against the American oil company Unocal for using human rights abuses to further its profit margins. To protect himself as he gathers documentation, he travels the jungle in black clothes and has had to interview victims using only his memory for lack of pen and paper. Fauziya Kassindja came to her work through no choice of her own--when she fled Togo to escape genital mutilation she found herself shackled and abandoned in the U.S. prison system, and has become a force for change in both countries. Others have seen a need and filled it, such as Muhammed Yunus, who has achieved miraculous results in Bangladesh by giving small loans to those who no one else would entrust with money--poor women without collateral. The results have been nothing less than the transformation of the women, their families, and the political landscape of a nation. There are also the famous here: Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Rigoberta Menchu Tum. Václav Havel speaks on becoming a dissident and the divine, while the Dalai Lama talks about compassion, suffering, and nonviolence. These are extraordinary people, and yet they are as human as the rest of us. As Oscar Arias Sanchez says, "One works for justice not for the big victories, but simply because engaging in the struggle is itself worth doing." An inspiring work made beautiful by photographs by renowned photographer Eddie Adams. --Lesley Reed Through photographs by Eddie Adams and interviews by human rights activist Kerry Kennedy, gripping stories are revealed of 51 men and women around the globe who put their lives on the line, surviving imprisonment, torture, and death threats, because of hope for and dedication to a future where equality is common and oppression rare. |
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