I've Got the Light of Freedom

Charles M. Payne is Professor and Bass Fellow, African American Studies, History and Sociology, Duke University

• PREFACE TO THE 2007 EDITIONACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTIONONESETTING THE STAGETWOTESTING THE LIMITSBlack Activism in Postwar MississippiTHREEGIVE LIGHT AND THE PEOPLE WILL FIND A WAYThe Roots of an Organizing TraditionFOURMOVING ON MISSISSIPPIFIVEGREENWOODBuilding on the PastSIXIF YOU DON'T GO, DON'T HINDER METhe Redefinition of LeadershipSEVENTHEY KEPT THE STORY BEFORE MEFamilies and TraditionsEIGHTSLOW AND RESPECTFUL WORKOrganizers and OrganizingNINEA WOMAN S WARTENTRANSITIONSELEVENCARRYING ONThe Politics of EmpowermentTWELVEFROM SNCC TO SLICKThe Demoralization if the MovementTHIRTEENMRS. HAMER IS NO LONGER RELEVANTThe Loss if the Organizing TraditionFOURTEENTHE ROUGH DRAFT OF HISTORYEPILOGUEBIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY:THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF HISTORYNOTESINTERVIEWSINDEX

"Not a comprehensive history of the civil rights movement in Mississippi, this thoughtful study instead analyzes the legacy of community organizing there. . . . Concentrating on the delta city of Greenwood, he offers useful profiles of local activists, showing that many came from families with traditions of social involvement or defiance. He also explores the disproportionate number of female volunteers, the older black generation's complex interactions with whites and the decline of organizing as the 1960s proceeded."