At The Dark End Of The Street Analysis

Social movements adapt to the world around them, and altering tactics and strategies is necessary in an ever changing world. This is challenging at times, and effective tactics are difficult to determine. In the case of Danielle L. McGuire’s work, At the Dark End of the Street, African American women and men in the Southern United States faced tremendous obstacles, yet they overcame these difficulties. McGuire highlights the role of women, particularly Rosa Parks involvement, from standing up to segregationists to organizing groups such as the Alabama Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor and the Citizens Coordinating Committee. Additionally, the Montgomery bus boycotts and African Americans accepting their imprisonment, among other methods of advancing their agendas.
In order for African American women to make headway, they realized taking the initiative was essential to the movement’s organization. Four white men raped Recy Taylor, a mother and sharecropper, and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the crime. Despite the threat she identified her attackers, spurring Rosa Parks to form the Alabama Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor. Claudette Colvin also modified Civil Rights organization by refusing to surrender her seat on a bus. Her actions led to the formation of the Citizens Coordinating

As women felt more inclined to identify their attackers despite the outcome, and refuse to give up their seats for whites, others used their defiance as motivation. The strategies and tactics McGuire outlined assisted African Americans in overcoming the fear they constantly encountered. McGuire’s work is surely a remarkable account of the Civil Rights movement that outlines the horrific actions the Civil Rights movement fought diligently to