Liberation Summer - by Micki McElya (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From Pulitzer Prize finalist and historian Micki McElya, the first complete, in-depth look at a critical but overlooked moment in our history--the road to the September 1968 dual protests of the Miss America and Miss Black America pageants in Atlantic City--and its lasting impact on the women's rights movements in America.

Of the many pivotal years in United States history studied and recreated by historians, journalists, and filmmakers, 1968, in particular, is widely recognized as a major turning point in the country's social and political trajectory. In just twelve months the US experienced the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, the Tet Offensive and the rising intensity of the Vietnam War, the deadly riots at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and the election of Richard Nixon, a president whose tenure would ultimately erode trust of government and authority to an uncomfortable degree. But these narratives usually omit another, equally important moment in the story of that unprecedented year: the summer that defined and determined the future of the women's liberation movement, culminating in the dual protest of the Miss America and Miss Black America Pageants on the boardwalks of Atlantic City.

Now, for the first time, Liberation Summer corrects this written historical record, offering a detailed account of the months of planning, debates, and decisions that led to the demonstrations, as well as the broader social and political landscape that gave rise to some of the most iconic women on both sides of the ideological spectrum, from Betty Friedan, Carol Hanisch, and Florynce Kennedy to Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly. A sweeping saga of American history and culture, Liberation Summer presents a kaleidoscopic view of our nation on the brink of change, amidst the continuing quest for justice and gender equality.

About the Author

Micki McElya is a professor of history at the University of Connecticut, specializing in the histories of women, gender, race, and sexuality in the United States from the Civil War to the present, with an emphasis on political culture and memory. Her most recent book, The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and received a number of other accolades; her 2007 book, Clinging to Mammy: The Faithful Slave in Twentieth-Century America was the cowinner of a 2007 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. McElya has written for The Atlantic and Boston Review, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, The Nation, Elle, and more. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and New York University and is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American histories. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.