The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation(Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century)

Many prominent and well-known figures greatly impacted the civil rights movement, but one of the most influential and unsung leaders of that period was Gloria Richardson. As the leader of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC), a multifaceted liberation campaign formed to target segregation and racial inequality in Cambridge, Maryland, Richardson advocated for economic justice and tactics beyond nonviolent demonstrations. Her philosophies and strategies -- including her belief that black people had a right to self--defense -- were adopted, often without credit, by a number of civil rights and black power leaders and activists. The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation explores the largely forgotten but deeply significant life of this central figure and her determination to improve the lives of black people. Using a wide range of source materials, including interviews with Richardson and her personal papers, as well as interviews with dozens of her friends, relatives, and civil rights colleagues, Joseph R. Fitzgerald presents an all-encompassing narrative. From Richardson's childhood, when her parents taught her the importance of racial pride, through the next eight decades, Fitzgerald relates a detailed and compelling story of her life. He reveals how Richardson's human rights activism extended far beyond Cambridge and how her leadership style and vision for liberation were embraced by the younger activists of the black power movement, who would carry the struggle on throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s.

About the Author :
Joseph R. Fitzgerald is assistant professor of history and political science at Cabrini University. His areas of focus include critical race feminism and the civil rights and black power waves of the modern black liberation movement.

Review :
"Fitzgerald uses these wide-ranging sources to compose a well-organized book that covers this lesser-known movement leader's familial history, long history of civic engagement, and postmodern Civil Rights Movement life." -- Journal of African American History "This book provides an in-depth account of Gloria Richardson's life and work and also a fascinating view of this period in the history of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It is engagingly written, extensively researched, and of interest to anyone interested in Maryland history, in the history of the Eastern Shore in particular, in African American history, in the civil rights movement, and in women's history." -- Maryland Historical Magazine ""Fitzgerald's longform research creates a rich, factual context to appreciate [Gloria Richardson's] work even more deeply."" -- Janelle Harris, The Crisis "Fitzgerald... offers 'a key to understanding a person who is often considered a historical enigma' in this minutely detailed biography of Gloria Richardson, the central figure in the Cambridge Movement for civil rights on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1962.... This informative and accessible account is a useful addition to African American studies." -- Publishers Weekly "I finished the book inspired, grateful and ready to work.... It was Richardson who served as the architect to many of the philosophies of younger activists and organizers during the civil rights struggles in the 1960s and 1970s.... She is part of the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement and served as a hand steering the country toward equity and freedom." -- "Joseph R. Fitzgerald's remarkable biography of Gloria Richardson is a great contribution to [the study of black women's leadership in the civil rights and Black Power movements] as it casts light on one of the movement's fiercest and most undercelebrated freedom fighters of the twentieth century. What sets this biography apart is Fitzgerald's ability to lean on Richardson herself to tell her story." -- Francis V. Gourrier Jr., Journal of Southern History "Fitzgerald utilized a wide range of source materials to present an engaging narrative that charts Richardson's life from childhood on through the next eight decades of her life." -- The Philadelphia Tribune "Fitzgerald's The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation explores the largely forgotten but deeply significant life of this central figure and her determination to improve the lives of Black people." -- Philadelphia Sun "With this illuminating biography, Fitzgerald brings to life the struggle for civil rights and Gloria Richardson's role in the movement. An important book for readers at a time in history when the rights of African Americans are again being questioned." -- Library Journal (starred review) "Fitzgerald makes his literary debut with this thoroughly researched biography. An admiring celebration of one woman's important contribution to an ongoing struggle." -- Kirkus Reviews