Black Struggle, Red Scare

Exploiting the Cold War climate, southern segregationists linked the civil rights movement to an international Communist conspiracy. In this gripping and extensively researched book, Jeff Woods delves into the fear-mongering tactics of politicians and the pervasive paranoia that led to the Southern Red Scare. By focusing on the intense period of racial tension and Communist obsession, Woods documents the dangerous waste of public funds and illegal means used to put an end to what proved to be a nearly nonexistent threat. As a result, civil rights leaders were forced to disassociate themselves from Marxists and gain sympathy from the American public, but it came at the cost of losing some of their strongest supporters. This is a must-read for anyone interested in balancing liberty, security, and racial justice during a tumultuous era in American history.