This well-written narrative, concise but packed with history, chronicles the struggle for African American civil rights. Beginning in 1619 when the first ship carrying Africans arrived in North America and continuing to the present, historian Michael L. Levine gives readers a balanced overview of how U.S. laws have prevented blacks from having the same civil rights as others. The text is accompanied by 65 detailed biographical sketches that describe the roles played by key individuals who worked to advance-or block-the civil rights of African Americans.