The civil rights movement is often defined narrowly, relegated to the
1950s and 1960s and populated by such colossal figures as Martin Luther
King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Many forget that the movement was bigger than
the figures on the frontline and that it grew from intellectual and
historical efforts that continue today. In Path to Grace: Reimagining
the Civil Rights Movement, author Ethel Morgan Smith shines light on
unsung heroes of the civil rights movement, the ordinary citizens
working behind the scenes to make an impact in their communities.
Through eleven original interviews with teachers, parents hosting
fundraisers for civil right workers, volunteers helping with voter
registration, and more, Smith highlights the contributions these figures
made to the civil rights movement. Some of these brave warriors worked
at the elbows of icons while others were clearing new paths, all passing
through history without wide recognition. Path to Grace introduces
readers to new witnesses and largely neglected voices. Also included are
interviews with such esteemed but less studied figures as writer Gloria
Naylor, poet Nikki Giovanni, fashion designer Ann Lowe, and educator
Constance Curry.
This work of social change situates these narratives in both the past
and present. Indeed, many of Smith's subjects, such as Emma Bruce, John
Canty, Andrea Lee, Ann Lowe, and Blanche Virginia Franklin Moore, can
trace their ancestry back to enslavement, which provides a direct chain
of narrators and firmly plants the roots of the civil rights movement in
the country's foundation. Through historical contextualization and an
analysis of contemporary sociopolitical events, Path to Grace
celebrates the contributions of some of the nameless individuals,
generation after generation, who worked to make the United States better
for all its citizens.
