Turning the Tide is an institutional and cultural history of a dramatic decade of change at the University of Alabama set against the backdrop of desegregation, the continuing civil rights struggle, and the growing antiwar movement. This book documents the period when a handful of University of Alabama student activists formed an alliance with President Frank A. Rose, his staff, and a small group of progressive-minded professors in order to transform the university during a time of social and political turmoil. Together they engaged in a struggle against Goverr George Wallace and a state legislature that reflected the worst aspects of racism in a state where the passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965 did little to reduce segregation and much to inflame the fears and passions of many white Alabamians. Earl H. Tilford details the origins of the student movement from within the Student Government Association, whose leaders included Ralph Kwles and future goverr Don Siegelman, among others; the participation of key members of The Machine, the political faction made up of the powerful fraternities and sororities on campus; and the efforts of more radical n-Greek students like Jack Drake, Ed Still, and Sondra Nesmith. Tilford also details the political maneuverings that drove the cause of social change through multiple administrations at the university. Turning the Tide highlights the contributions of university presidents Frank A. Rose and David Mathews, as well as administrators like the dean of men John L. Blackburn, who supported the student leaders but also encouraged them to work within the system rather than against it. Based on archival research, interviews with many of the principal participants, and the author's personal experiences, Tilford's Turning the Tide is a compelling portrait of a university in transition during the turbulence surrounding the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
The University of Alabama Press
ISBN-10
0817318143
ISBN-13
9780817318147
eBay Product ID (ePID)
184087524
Product Key Features
Author
Earl H. Tilford
Format
Hardback
Language
English
Subject
Regional History
Type
Textbook
Dimensions
Height
229mm
Width
152mm
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Alabama
Content Note
27 B&W Illustrations
Author Biography
Earl H. Tilford is the author of Crosswinds: The Air Force's Setup in Vietnam and Search and Rescue in Southeast Asia: USAF in Southeast Asia, and coeditor of The Eagle in the Desert: Looking Back on the United States Involvement in the Persian Gulf War.