The Fight for Equal Opportunity: Blacks in America

The book is a history of African-American leadership in modern times, with special focus on two magnetic and essential figures in the struggle for racial equality: General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Following an introductory chapter on slavery and the Civil War, the book examines African-American leadership during the two world wars; and the history of civil rights legislation in the twentieth century. It tells how a people who were enslaved for over 240 years came to have one of their own become president of the country that enslaved them and a leader of the free world. The chapters are well-organized and engaging, written for readers of high school or college age, or adults with an interest in the subject matter. Easily accessible footnotes provide references for further study.