"Takin' it to the streets"

by Alexander Bloom

Takin' It to the Streets is a comprehensive collection of primary documents covering political, social and cultural aspects of the 1960's. Drawn from mainstream sources, little-known sixties periodicals, pamphlets and public speeches, this anthology brings together representative writings many of which have been unavailable for years or have never been reprinted, from the Port Huron Statement and Malcolm X's "The Ballot or the Bullet" to Richard Nixon's "If Mob Rule Takes Hold in the U.S." and Ronald Reagan's "Freedom versus Anarchy on Campus." Introductions and headnotes by the editors help highlight the importance of particular documents while relating them to each other and placing them within the broader context of the decade. While paying particular attention to civil rights, anti-war activity, Black power, the counter-culture, the women's and gay/lesbian struggles for recognition, the authors also take into account the conservative backlashes these sparked and thus present a balanced portrait of a tumultous era. Covering an extremely popular period of history, Takin' It to the Streets stands out as a thorough and accessible collection of documents, an authoritative reader for a decade such as America had not seen before or experienced since.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?