A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History

A More Beautiful and Terrible History argues for the reexamination of the civil rights era. Theoharis not only explores what misinformation has spread since the movement but also why certain narratives emerged and others were erased by politicians, journalists, and other commentators. Among her essential points throughout the book is that taking an honest look at history can be uncomfortable and unsettle a status quo that benefits some demographics at the expense of others. Those who profit from an inequitable system must be willing to examine their own biases, privilege, and complacency if they are to honestly reckon with the past and are genuinely committed to racial equality moving forward.

Martin Luther King Jr. discussed willful ignorance, describing a “fantasy of self-deception and comfortable vanity” among white Americans who “[considered] themselves sincerely committed to justice” (122). White commentators in ostensibly liberal cities deflected confrontation over their own racism through diversionary conversations about busing, community control, neighborhoods, and other coded language. Theoharis explains that “silences are comfortable” (122); people avoid the work of true reckoning when a problem remains hidden and perpetrators avoid accountability.

Silences also uphold the status quo beyond a single category of racial inequality. Theoharis explains at length, especially in later chapters, the extent to which women and young people activists championed civil rights, though “great man history” has taken precedent in American historical memory. American students, particularly of prior generations, are likely to be comfortably familiar with historical narratives that celebrate powerful or socially influential individuals—and these figures are disproportionately white men. With these heroic images in mind, it may be uncomfortable not only to revisit the details of their stories but also to acknowledge the huge role that Black women—discriminated against for their race and their sex—played in shaping history. In a society devoid of racism and sexism, such an admission would not be uncomfortable. Theoharis outlines many, many examples of how racist and sexist American society persists long after the civil rights movement. She calls on readers to endure discomfort so the truth can be heard and honored.