Promotional Information

Stars for Freedom is a brilliantly researched, eloquently argued and beautifully written book that shows how important the work of black celebrity was to the civil rights movement. Raymond reveals how the activism of a few courageous stars shaped the perception, and deepened the purse, of a movement that sorely needed their funds and fame. This is a path breaking study that restores the honorable place of black entertainers in bolstering a movement that transformed a nation at a critical juncture in our history. -- Michael Eric Dyson, author of April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Death and How it Changed America Stars for Freedom analyzes a little-known but fascinating aspect of the Civil Rights movement: how African-American actors and entertainers in Hollywood contributed their money, connections, and fame to promote the cause. As Emilie Raymond shows, the political success of figures such as Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poiter, and Sammy Davis, Jr. forces us to reconsider whether modern celebrity culture can, in fact, encourage something more than mere trivial entertainment. An illuminating and entertaining read. -- Steven Watts, author of Self-Help Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern America and Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream Emilie Raymond provides deep insight into how entertainers helped shape the civil rights movement. Stars for Freedom is a valuable, eye-opening book. -- Aram Goudsouzian, author of Down to the Crossroads This gem of a book is well written and on a timely topic. It will make an invaluable contribution to both civil rights and entertainment history. -- Randal Maurice Jelks, author of Benjamin Elijah Mays, Schoolmaster of the Movement During this moment of #BlackLivesMatter, Emilie Raymond's fascinating book is an illuminating reminder of that first generation of Black artists and entertainers to reflect contemporary social justice realities in their work. -- Mark Anthony Neal, author of Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Cleaning up Catfish Row: Black Celebrity and the Making of Porgy and Bess

2. Sammy Davis, Jr.: Daring, Deferential, and "Money"

3. Harry Belafonte and the Northern Liberal Network

4. The Arts Group and the March on Washington

5. Dick Gregory and Celebrity Grassroots Activism

6. Stars for Selma

7. Celebrities and Black Power

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Emilie Raymond is associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is the author of "From My Cold, Dead Hands": Charlton Heston and American Politics.

Reviews

"A welcome addition to growing literature that stresses the heterogeneity of civil rights protest in the postwar era. . . . Raymond's study provides both insight and avenues for further scholarly discussion and exploration. . . Highly entertaining and readable." - Mark Walmsley (H-1960s) "Emilie Raymond approaches this subject through a comprehensive survey of six black activist Hollywood celebrities and their contributions to racial equality. Tracing the often uneasy relationship of Hollywood with black identity and culture from the 1940s to the present, Stars for Freedom also lays a thorough foundation between film and American racial politics today." - Sarah Jilani (Times Literary Supplement)