Steven F. Lawson – författare

Originally released in 2008, this book features the first publication in book form of the Clinton Commission on Race Initiative’s report; a foreword by commission chair John Hope Franklin; President Clinton’s speech that launched the commission; and other important materials for classes on American race relations. "The report, and this volume, will surely assume a place among the most significant works about race and the persistent challenge of racism in modern American life."—William A. Link, University of Florida

Black Ballots is an in-depth look at suffrage expansion in the South from World War II through the Johnson administration. Steven Lawson focuses on the "Second Reconstruction"—the struggle of blacks to gain political power in the South through the ballot-which both whites and black perceived to be a key element in the civil rights process.Examining the struggle of civil rights groups to enfranchise Negroes, Lawson also analyzes the responses of federal and local officials to those efforts. He describes the various techniques—from the white primary, the poll tax, literacy tests, and restrictive registration procedures through sheer intimidation—that were developed by white southerners to perpetuate disfranchisement and the sundry methods used by blacks and their white allies to challenge them.

No other book about the civil rights movement captures the drama and impact of the black struggle for equality better than Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945–1968. Two of the most respected scholars of African-American history, Steven F. Lawson and Charles M. Payne, examine the individuals who made the movement a success, both at the highest level of government and in the grassroots trenches. Designed specifically for college and university courses in American history, this is the best introduction available to the glory and agony of these turbulent times. Carefully chosen primary documents augment each essay giving students the opportunity to interpret the historical record themselves and engage in meaningful discussion. In this revised and updated edition, Lawson and Payne have included additional analysis on the legacy of Martin Luther King and added important new documents.

Over the past thirty years, Steven F. Lawson has established himself as one of the nation's leading historians of the black struggle for equality. Civil Rights Crossroads is an important collection of Lawson's writings about the civil rights movement that is essential reading for anyone concerned about the past, present, and future of race relations in America. Lawson examines the movement from a variety of perspectives -- local and national, political and social -- to offer penetrating insights into the civil rights movement and its influence on contemporary society.Civil Rights Crossroads also illuminates the role of a broad array of civil rights activists, familiar and unfamiliar. Lawson describes the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon Johnson to shape the direction of the struggle, as well as the extraordinary contributions of ordinary people like Fannie Lou Hamer, Harry T. Moore, Ruth Perry, Theodore Gibson, and many other unsung heroes of the most important social movement of the twentieth century. Lawson also examines the decades-long battle to achieve and expand the right of African Americans to vote and to implement the ballot as the cornerstone of attempts at political liberation.

Running for Freedom, Fourth Edition, updates historian Steven Lawson’s classic volume detailing the history of African-American civil rights and black politics from the beginning of World War II to the present day.Offers comprehensive coverage of the African-American struggle for civil rights in the U.S. from 1941 to 2014Integrates events relating to America’s civil rights story at both the local and national levelsFeatures new material on Obama’s first term in office and the first year of his second termIncludes addition of such timely issues as the Trayvon Martin case, the March on Washington 5oth anniversary, state voter suppression efforts, and Supreme Court ruling on Voting Rights Act