Analysis Of At The Dark End Of The Street

McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance- A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power. New York, New York: Vintage Books. 2011.

Thesis: McGuire argues that the Civil Rights movement was not led just by the strong male leaders presented to society such as Martin Luther King Jr., but is "also rooted in African-American women 's long struggle against sexual violence (xx)." McGuire argues for the "retelling and reinterpreting (xx)" of the Civil Rights movement because of the resistance of the women presented in her text.

Themes: 1) The major theme of the book is respectability. In the 1950 's Rosa Parks became the symbol for black female resistance in the

Courage, like respectability, shifted its meaning slightly throughout the decades. Courage in the earlier part of the century for both black males and females, could mean and often relied on staying silent and enduring rather than openly resisting. As time went on, it became more courageous to speak out and encourage open

I use the "as a whole" because her book can bounce back and forth in time from chapter to chapter, but as a reader, you can see the overall change from the early 20th century into the 1970s. McGuire begins her book with a prologue describing the brutal raping of Recy Taylor in 1944. She chooses to title each chapter (with the exception to chapter seven)with a "quote" from a repressed black female. Chapter one, "They 'd Kill Me If I Told", provides the reader with a background of Rosa Parks, the lead investigator for the NAACP, (not just a tired old woman with sore feet on a bus), who is put in charge of investing the Taylor case. Chapter one also introduces the reader to the power (or lack of) nation-wide media exposure. Chapter two, " Negroes Everyday Are Being Molested", shows the power of respectability in choosing who to aid, and exposes the reader the ridiculous (but unfortunately, very real in the eyes of the white male) concept of "eye rape (62)." Chapter three, "Walking in Pride and Dignity", goes more into the ideal of respectability, and its role in the movement for black women. Chapter four, "There 's Open Season on Negroes Now", analyzes the case of the "Kissing Game" and discusses the troubles with segregation due to both races having interest in Rock 'n ' Roll no matter the color of the musician.