Eyes off the prize
This book uniquely focuses on the efforts of African American activists to frame their struggle within a global human rights context, specifically through the United Nations, rather than solely as a domestic issue. It highlights how Cold War politics often undermined these international appeals, offering a perspective distinct from narratives centered on domestic legislative battles.
Carol Anderson consistently examines the historical and ongoing struggles for racial justice and equality in the United States, often revealing overlooked aspects of these movements. This book establishes her foundational interest in the intersection of domestic civil rights and international policy, a theme she further explores in subsequent analyses of American democracy and racial inequality.
The book is a work of non-fiction, meticulously researched and based on historical events and the actions of real African American civil rights activists. It draws on archival sources to reconstruct their efforts to link the fight for civil rights in the U.S. to broader human rights concerns on the international stage.