The Children. - book reviews

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 17, 1998 by Patricia Reid-Merritt

I approached the reading of David Halberstam's The Children with a great deal of trepidation. Here was yet another book written by a White journalist, that focused attention on some of the most significant events in the early Civil Rights Movement. As a lifelong student of the Black struggle, and as a scholar firmly grounded in an African-centered perspective, I doubted that I could gain any new insights from this volume's nearly 800-page retelling of the Movement. I was wrong.

Halberstam, a Harvard-trained, Pulitzer-Prize winning author, offers an emotionally gripping story of the life and death experiences of eight ordinary young Black students who were "propelled into the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement, as the movement -- and America -- entered a period of dramatic change." Their achievements proved nothing less than extraordinary as they successfully challenged a system of racial apartheid. Halberstam uses his exceptional writing ability and analytical talents to convey the meaning and implications of what happened during the critical first years (1960-65) of the Movement's development. He carefully separates fact from fiction and the truth is delivered with remarkable clarity of vision.

While the book is meticulously researched, Halberstam also speaks from first-hand experience. Part of his credibility stems from the fact that as a young, 25-year-old journalist for the Nashville Tennessean, he was the leading reporter to cover The Movement as it unfolded in Nashville. However, the strength of this volume lies in the fact that while Halberstam is the author, it is the voices of the courageous Black students and their mentor that provides the fertile ground from which the story springs forth.

We learn a great deal about the lives of the student leaders -- Diane Nash, John Lewis, Marion Barry, James Bevel, Curtis Murphy, Gloria Johnson, Bernard Lafayette, and Rodney Powell -- during their formative years as social activists. We also be come familiar with those who nurtured and supported their cause, as well as those who were adamantly opposed to it.

Rev. James Lawson serves as their mentor, and he is the catalyst for the movement that is about to take place. In the late 1950s, he arrives in Nashville. A former student of Mahatma Gandhi and an admirer of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lawson is on a mission to introduce the philosophy of Christian love and nonviolent social change to the citizens of Nashville.

Lawson's seminars on civil disobedience and draft resistance attract the eight area college students whose lives -- and that of the nation -- would be forever transformed by his teachings. With unshakeable moral convictions and a profound sense of spirituality, it is "The Children" that embrace Lawson's philosophy. Undaunted by threats to their physical and spiritual being, they begin to risk their lives in pursuit of social justice.

Halberstam's use of the term "The Children" is a metaphor to remind us of the innocence, youthful exuberance, idealism, courage, and vulnerability of those who were willing to lead the most dangerous movement in American history. But the book is not limited to a descriptive account of infamous events. As the various incidents are recounted, the personal fears, struggles, anxieties, and developmental issues that confront all young people are also brought into focus.

It is the retelling of these personal stories in such rich detail that provides the reader with a deep appreciation for these young people who were so steadfastly committed to their cause.

The Children bears witness to some of the Black community's social insecurities as well. There are times when the telling of the truth made me squirm. Super-egos, petty jealousies, and superficial Black student values stalled efforts to develop a cohesive movement. I felt a sense of shame and embarrassment as the students conveyed their experiences with class and color discrimination among their peers. Gloria Johnson's description of questionable teaching practices at Meharry Medical School was chilling. And Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry's roller coaster rise and fall from power read like a dirty little smut novel, providing a vivid, unsettling reminder of the Black community's latent potential to engage in its own self-destruction.

Halberstam takes great pains to carefully document every aspect of this story. Some of the factual information is presented repeatedly, for added emphasis, as he continues to follow the students through The Movement and into adulthood. However, this minor infraction does not detract significantly from the overall exceptional quality of the book. As the story concluded, I still wanted more.

A colleague of mine suggested that we should develop a course around this book. That, perhaps, we should use this book to teach a generation of young people about the power of student activism, social idealism, and a collective commitment to social justice and equality. What a magnificent idea.

Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt is the author of Sister Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Rising to the Top.