Blood Brother: Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights

Gr 8 Up—In a masterly demonstration of scholarly research and nonfiction writing, the Wallaces have crafted a powerful biographical narrative of civil rights activist Jonathan Daniels. Daniels traveled to Alabama in 1965 to participate in the Selma to Montgomery March, and he stayed on to become a part of the African American community there. Daniels worked alongside Stokely Carmichael, John Lewis, and other key activists in the civil rights struggle and ultimately lost his life in the violent aftermath of the efforts to secure voting rights for African Americans in Lowndes County. More than merely delineating the dates and places of Daniels's life and death, this work provides copious photographs, intimate interviews, and a variety of primary source documents to clearly reveal the deep South of the 1960s with all of its disparities, prejudices, terrors, and injustices. While there are many historical details in the narrative, careful annotations and thorough indexing help readers keep track of the many players and scenes in this true-life drama. The authors have created a biography that brings to light the life and legacy of a lesser-known civil rights activist. The oppression of segregation and the violent means used to maintain it are depicted in shocking detail here, making the book more appropriate for mature readers.