Contact: Maridith Geuder
When the unique book first was published in 1992, the national Library Journal called it "one of the best reference sources of the year."
Now, two emeriti history professors at Mississippi State University have produced a significantly expanded version of their initial survey of African-American civil rights. They trace events from President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation through the 1995 "Million Man March" and developments as recent as 2002.
The new two-volume "Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights" is the product of MSU co-editors Charles D. Lowery and John F. Marszalek, along with Thomas A. Upchurch, an MSU doctoral graduate now teaching at East Georgia College in Statesboro.
The work was released in December by Greenwood Publishers of Westport, Conn., among the world's largest printers of reference, academic and general interest books.
The foreword by Pulitzer-Prize winning historian David Garrow calls the 2003 edition "a wonderfully rich research aid" and encourages students using the volumes to understand the past so that they may continue to shape the future of civil rights.
The encyclopedia is designed to be "the first place to go when you want to learn more about civil rights," Marszalek said. "Just thumbing through it will provide a tremendous amount of knowledge."
Lowery said their updating effort has resulted in more than 700 alphabetized entries spread among a total of nearly 1,000 pages.
"Through a wealth of entries written by 175 scholars around the nation, we show how the civil rights struggle was influenced by individuals, organizations, a significant number of court cases, and culture such as plays, magazines and journals," Lowery said. "Many of the contributors are leading scholars in the field, while others are promising new scholars."
Added Marszalek: "We're also fortunate to have a number of contributors who participated in the civil rights movement and can provide a firsthand, as well as an academic, perspective."
Each encyclopedic entry contains six to eight additional sources. Newspaper articles, speeches, personal accounts, and other primary sources also enhance the new edition, as well as an extensive timeline that highlights key events.
"As we worked on this massive undertaking, one of the key themes we saw emerging is that this movement truly was interracial," Marszalek said. "Both blacks and whites in the United States advanced the civil rights of all citizens."
The longtime history department head, Lowery is the co-author of "Old Main: Images of a Legend," a history of the famous 500-room MSU dormitory destroyed by fire in 1959.
Marszalek, a former Giles Distinguished Professor at the university, has authored to date nearly a dozen books and more than 150 articles on civil rights and Civil War historical topics.
For more information about "The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights," visit http://www.greenwood.com/imprints/index_gwdref1.asp.
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NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS:
Though both are retired from fulltime faculty duties at MSU, Dr. Lowery may be reached for additional comments through the history department office at (662) 325-3604; Dr. Marszalek, at 325-2559.