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Black Power in the Belly of the Beast. Edited by Judson L. Jeffries. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2006. 308 pages, cloth $65; paper $25.
Despite the enormous amount of literature dedicated to the history and legacy of the African American freedom struggle of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, very few studies have attempted to analyze the Black Power movement from a comprehensive perspective.* Black Power in the Belly of the Beast seeks to fill this void.
In this path-breaking volume, editor Judson L. Jeffries draws on leading scholars in this field of study as well as a cadre of community activists and researchers to explore the emergence of the Black Power movement, in all its permutations, from the formation groups such as the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) to the Deacons for Defense and Justice to the Black Liberation Army. Considered also are various leaders of these organizations. As Jeffries notes in his introduction, this collection rests on the notion that the "Black Power movement did not grow out of a vacuumx . . . but [was] firmly rooted in [the] rich tradition of Black protest." Its leaders were ignited with...