The River of No Return: The Autobiography of a Black Militant and the Life and Death of SNCC [Inscribed to Harry Belafonte]

Jackson and London: University Press of Mississippi, 1990. First Edition Thus. First Printing, a trade paperback original. Octavo (21cm); glossy printed card wrappers; [vi],[3],4-289,[1]pp. Lengthily inscribed by the author on the half-title page: "To Harry Belafonte & Family / Your steady and continuous support always made a difference / You helped many of us "SNICKers" find and know Mother Africa, meet President's Nkrumah and Touré, avoid the New York dungeon while confronting the South African consulate office, understand the linkage of struggle and provided (through your network of friends) resources to continue the work in the Deep (USA) South / SNCC was the most important and rewarding experience of my life / Your contributions of time and energy help make that possible / In struggle / Cleveland Sellers / Feb.1, 1991." Light wear to extremities, with mild dustiness to lower edge of textblock; Near Fine. Sellers (b.1944), together with Stokely Carmichael, was the top official for SNCC and deeply involved in the civil rights struggle. His memoir describes "the glory and agony and momentous days of the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. It is all here: the early sit-ins, the days of terror in Mississippi, the search for Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner, the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the Selma Campaign, the Meredith march, the birth of Black Power, the fragmentation of the movement, the demise of SNCC" (from rear flap). An especially long and moving inscription to Harry Belafonte (1927-2023), whose involvement with Sellers and SNCC extend back to the 1960s. Belafonte provided bail money for Sellers, James Forman, John Lewis and others after being arrested for protesting in memory of the Sharpesville Massacre, and he would help organize benefit concerts in New York to help raise funds for SNCC. BLOCKSON 3922.