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Autobiography of a Freedom Rider: My Life as a Foot Soldier for Civil Rights

by Thomas M. Armstrong , Natalie R. Bell

4.55 of 5 stars 4.55 · rating details · 11 ratings · 3 reviews

In the Segregated Deep South, When Lynching and Klansmen and Jim Crow laws ruled, there stood a line of foot soldiers ready to sacrifice their lives for the right to vote, to enter rooms marked 'White Only, ' and to live with simple dignity. They were called Freedom Riders, and Thomas M. Armstrong was one of them. This is his story.

"Autobiography of a Freedom Rider" detail ...more

Paperback , 208 pages

Published May 2nd 2011 by Health Communications

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Feb 12, 2014 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Stephanie by: Thomas M. Armstrong

Thomas M. Armstrong’s book Autobiography of a Freedom Rider: My Life as a Foot Soldier for Civil Rights is a moving account of the author’s journey from a young man growing up in 1950’s southern Mississippi to his awakening during the civil rights movement and the trauma he experienced later in life as a result. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book there are a couple parts I would like to highlight and share a few thoughts on.

Armstrong describes his commitment to the civil rights movement beginn Thomas M. Armstrong’s book Autobiography of a Freedom Rider: My Life as a Foot Soldier for Civil Rights is a moving account of the author’s journey from a young man growing up in 1950’s southern Mississippi to his awakening during the civil rights movement and the trauma he experienced later in life as a result. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book there are a couple parts I would like to highlight and share a few thoughts on.

Armstrong describes his commitment to the civil rights movement beginning while attending a meeting of activists at a church in Jackson in 1958. He later comes to find out that the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission had been conducting surveillance of the attendees. “Little did I know then that while I was enjoying the meeting, blissfully unaware, representatives of the Sovereignty Commission were outside recording the license numbers of all the cars in the parking lot” (p. 63). The inclusion of this detail opened my eyes to the history of domestic spying during this time in America. I was dismayed to read how the Commission worked as an anti-civil rights spy tool of the Mississippi Governor’s office. While this information isn’t widely known, I was excited to learn about the release of the documentary film Spies of Mississippi which aired on PBS’s Independent Lens program this week (2/10/14) http://www.spiesofmississippithefilm.com . The film documents the systematic infiltration of the civil rights community to suppress the black vote in favor of a segregationist state in 1964. It is difficult to process these events without making some connections with the current controversy regarding the NSA. The problem of governments spying on their people is not a new one and it is here to stay.

Another highlight came in Armstrong’s description of the “Little People”. He says, “When I speak of the “Little People,” I lift up the sharecroppers, tenant farmers, cleaning women and cooks, teachers and students, and small business people of the south. They are the foot soldiers who made history. […] They spoke not to the glare of television cameras, but to the hearts and souls of the black masses” (p. 80-81). While the individuals who were willing to fight and die to end segregation were often in the spotlight Armstrong makes very clear it could not have happened without the unwavering support of the “Little People”. They served the cause in their own way and I think history tends to focus on the spotlighted leaders and fails to recognize the important contributions of the thousands of regular people who worked quietly behind the scenes to make it possible. They too were courageous leaders through their actions and we unfortunately rarely get to hear their stories of leadership.

Towards the end of the book, after we navigate Armstrong’s heart-pounding protest experiences, he reflects on the impact of his involvement and the lasting effects of being separated from his family including his struggle with addiction. His journey through those dark times echo the experiences of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from war only Armstrong’s war was fought right here on American soil.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It is a sobering and personal account of a dark chapter in American history but ends with a wonderful message of hope and possibility that we all have the ability to be a part of something great even if it begins very small. ...more

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Sep 18, 2013 Niki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Absorbing and interesting. Though short, it gave me a different perspective of a civil rights advocate and the civil rights era.

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Mar 17, 2015 Dibbs0529 rated it 5 of 5 stars

A very detailed look into the 60's Freedom Rider's movement and what it all entailed.

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