Class Reading

Howell Raines’ My Soul is Rested is the story of the Civil Rights Movement as told by those who participated in it. The book consists strictly of interviews from major and minor figures of the era. Unlike typical collections of primary sources, however, the book is more of a fluid narrative than a collection of remotely related oral histories. This is because Raines arranged the interviews into specific themes that tell the story of the expanding movement as it unfolded. That and the fact that the interviews are superbly engaging make the book an excellent source for understanding the movement. The interviews are at times humorous but mostly both powerfully tragic and inspiring. Perhaps the best way to understand an era is to seek out the primary sources. Most of the time, these are difficult to weave into something both enlightening and accessible. Raines has managed to do just that primarily by knowing when to stand aside and let the story tell itself.