Books: Non-Fiction

Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Book — Non-fiction. Edited by Stewart Burns 1997. 392 pages.
A documentary history of the Montgomery bus boycott that reverberates with the voices of those closest to the boycott.

Time Periods: 1945
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements, Racism & Racial Identity

In Daybreak of Freedom, Stewart Burns presents a documentary history of the boycott. Using an array of more than one hundred original documents, he crafts a comprehensive account of this celebrated year-long protest of racial segregation.

Daybreak of Freedom reverberates with the voices of those closest to the bus boycott, ranging from Martin Luther King and his inner circle, to Jo Ann Robinson and other women leaders who started the protest, to the maids, cooks, and other ‘foot soldiers’ who carried out the struggle.

ISBN: 9780807846612 | University of North Carolina Press

Reviews

“A skillfully edited, handsomely designed volume that will be proven useful to anyone interested in the civil rights movement.” —Journal of Southern History

“Scholars who are striving to broaden the context and deepen our understanding of the civil rights movement will appreciate the multiple perspectives in Daybreak of Freedom. . . . [It] is a treasure trove of possibilities for any teacher who uses primary sources, whether in a high school survey or a graduate seminar. Not only are the documents compelling and well organized, but Burns’s editorial explanations are clear and helpful.” —Journal of American History