Praise for Down to the Crossroads
Winner of the 2014 McLemore Book Prize, given by the Mississippi Historical Society
Winner of Certificate of Merit for 2015, given by the Tennessee Historical Commission
"An estimably well-researched and pitch-perfect work of history . . . Goudsouzian's well-written book is a model of authoritative and jargon-free scholarship." -- David Garrow, Washington Post
“In Down to the Crossroads, Aram Goudsouzian recreates the last great march of the civil rights movement in vibrant and intimate detail. Through compelling prose and exciting storytelling, Goudsouzian introduces contemporary readers to the central characters of a great American drama: an historic political movement in transition, precisely at the end of the era of non-violent civil disobedience and the beginning of the revolutionary politics of 'Black Power,' militancy, and armed resistance. This book is a must read for anyone curious about the sixties, and about the roots of the political movement that elected Barack Obama President.” – Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Studies, Harvard University
"[Reveals] a protest in all its complexity. Down long dusty roads, through K.K.K. strongholds, from a smoky motel where Martin Luther King Jr. defended his case for nonviolence, to a small town where Stokely Carmichael indelibly uttered the words “Black Power,” Goudsouzian unravels the undercurrents of chauvinism and the collective sense of frustration that brought a movement to the crossroads. . . . His trenchant research and insight capture a moment that was as audacious and polemical as Meredith himself." -- New York Times Book Review
“Down to the Crossroads provides a nuanced and engaging look at what was one of the last major marches of the civil-rights movement. . . . As Mr. Goudsouzian makes clear, Meredith, a loner who marched to the beat of a different drum, doesn't fit the classic definition of a civil-rights icon. What the author makes even clearer is that Meredith's march, one that many thought would not matter, deserves the close examination that this book gives it.” – Wall Street Journal
"Aram Goudsouzian has written the single best book on a critical period of the civil rights struggle. He helps us to understand fully what really happened to the movement and in America after passage of the historic 1964-65 civil rights laws. With a scholar's meticulous research, an investigative reporter's comprehensive interviewing, and a novelist's lyrical prose, Goudsouzian brings alive an important chapter in American history." -- Nick Kotz, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, and the Laws That Changed America
"Down to the Crossroads offers important lessons on how movements can fall apart in the face of diverging priorities, clashes of egos, struggles in collaboration, and sparse financial and manpower resources. . . . Reformers of all stripes should read this book in order to learn how to keep history from repeating." -- Dropout Nation, in its "Top Eight Books of 2014"
“[A] riveting, well-told story.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“In graphic and masterful prose, Aram Goudsouzian depicts the watershed moments of the Meredith March Against Fear from Memphis to Jackson in pursuit of black voters’ rights. He shines a new light on the heretofore little-told tale of the fitful transition in the Civil Rights Movement’s leadership and politics from an era of relatively peaceful, non-resistant methods (as personified by the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr.) to a more militant stance and posture within the crusade as epitomized by Stokely Carmichael and the emerging Black Power movement. In essence, Down to the Crossroads is the genesis of that unfolding and fateful story.” -- Joyce L. Broussard, committee chair, McLemore Book Prize
“The Meredith March remains one of the most understudied yet significant events of the civil rights era. In Aram Goudsouzian, the march has found its definitive chronicler. Fresh, powerful and brimming with new historical insights, Down To the Crossroads is a truly impressive account of a march that forever transformed American race relations.” – Peniel Joseph, author of Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
"Down to the Crossroads is impeccably researched and well written, showcasing Goudsouzian’s talents as a scholar. . . . This book would serve well in any college classroom on civil rights, African American, or United States history and deserves both high praise and wide readership." -- The Sixties
“Down to the Crossroads is a splendid addition to the literature of the southern struggle to overcome the Jim Crow system. It offers a vivid account of the tumultuous events that brought together the key civil rights leaders of the 1960s and deepens our understanding of their contrasting answers to Martin Luther King's enduring question: Where do we go from here?” – Clayborne Carson, Director, Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, Stanford University
"Aram Goudsouzian's valuable new book . . . stands every chance of being career-defining. It is meticulously researched, and it is thoroughly readable. It is also a story that remained relatively under-reported -- until now." -- Memphis Flyer
"A riveting story of the creative tensions among King, the NAACP, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Urban League and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, led by its blunt, attention-grabbing leader, Stokely Carmichael. . . . And it is propelled by the narrative power of march participants and small-town black people who faced job losses, beatings or worse if they joined or showed support for the marchers." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Goudsouzian chronicles an important chapter in the 1960s . . . with a great flair for storytelling. . . . It is a rare combination of rigorous historical research and readability that would be a great complement to any course dealing with the tumults of the 1960s." -- Journal of African American History
“Aram Goudsouzian’s epic, textured and human account of the conflicted civil rights hero James Meredith and the march he spearheaded . . . digs deeply into the dynamic shift in black and American consciousness this previously scantly analyzed moment fostered.” – Feature in Kirkus Reviews
“[A] gripping account of that summer in Mississippi . . . Goudsouzian is particularly good at teasing out the ways in which the more established black leaders, including King, danced around the cries of “Black Power” that emanated from Stokely Carmichael’s camp.” – Clay Risen
"[A] terrific, readable book . . . Goudsouzian has a sharp eye for ironies, and the story he tells is full of them. . . . It’s a fascinating story." --New Books in History
"Goudsouzian captures the march in all its complex drama, and explains its importance. This is an excellent history and a gripping read, too." -- Timothy Tyson, Duke University
"Each chapter begins with a vignette of an individual participant or local activist. This skillful weaving of a personal story into the chapter's structure helps shift the book's feel . . . to a story of individual contributions." -- Journal of American History
"An incredibly valuable contribution to the history of the waning years of the civil rights movement and the nascent stages of Black Power. . . . An outstanding study . . . well-structured, deeply researched, and rigorous." -- Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, Journal of Southern History
“Highlights the contentious debates among movement leaders, the courage they inspired among rural demonstrators, and the fierce resistance they faced from segregationists.” – Booklist
“The book significantly advances our understanding of this
turning point in civil rights history – a point where the ‘illusion of
organized unity’ among black leaders was beginning to crack and ‘creative
tensions’ were primed to go public, with King as ‘spiritual force’ versus
Carmichael as ‘bitter challenger to liberal sensibilities.’” – Leonard Gill, Memphis Magazine
“A textured exploration of the significant players and events at this key juncture in American history.” – Kirkus Reviews
"The first full account of Meredith’s storied March Against Fear . . . is leavened with richly drawn portraits, ranging from unheralded marchers to the towering but tragic figure of President Lyndon B. Johnson." -- Robert Weisbrot, Colby College
"The riveting story . . . is ably recounted by University of Memphis historian Aram Goudsouzian in Down to the Crossroads." -- Claremont Review of Books
"The riveting story . . . is ably recounted by University of Memphis historian Aram Goudsouzian in Down to the Crossroads." -- Claremont Review of Books
"Goudsouzian successfully captures the complexities of the march in this absorbing and compelling narrative that should have wide appeal." -- Journal for the Study of Radicalism
"Goudsouzian has written a wonderful account of the Meredith march. The book is a compelling read. It is rich with interesting characters, strong analysis, excellent writing, and superb discussion of the complexities of the civil rights movement of the time and the opposition to it. This book should be of interest both to experts and to non-experts alike on the black freedom struggle and would be great reading for college classes on the subject. -- Elizabeth Gritter, The West Tennessee Historical Society Papers
"Research and interviews on the events and personalities involved in the Meredith March provides a deeper look into the stories of the locals involved in the movement." -- New Orleans Advocate
"Goudsouzian’s authoritative research and direct prose illuminate the complex process of organizing a moving protest to confront the uniquely virulent racism of Mississippi, as well as the emerging differences between King and Carmichael." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal
"Goudsouzian's well-written account reminds us that James Meredith's March Against Fear was much more than the shooting of Meredith or the call for Black Power in Greenwood, Mississippi. Indeed, Down to the Crossroads supports the positioning of the march as a key, transitional civil rights demonstration -- the last mass demonstration on which the major organizations would work together -- with a level of detail that has not yet occurred." -- Journal of Mississippi History
“An intriguing new book . . . This single march, captured in detail in Down to the Crossroads, gives readers a clearer understanding of the tensions that often dominated the civil rights movement.” – BookPage
"Thank you Professor Goudsouzian. I have read a lot of books in which my name was used concerning American History. None are in the category with your book. Long into the future, serious students of American History will discover your work and use it to explain either the fall of America or its continued success as the world's leader. More importantly your book made clear to me that I had not fulfilled my 'Divine Responsibility'. But, I ain't dead yet." -- James Meredith
