$16.00 with 27 percent savings
List Price: $21.99

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
In Stock
$$16.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$16.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Dorothy Cotton
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

If Your Back's Not Bent: The Role of the Citizenship Education Program in the Civil Rights Movement Paperback – February 9, 2016

by Dorothy F. Cotton (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$16.00","priceAmount":16.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"16","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"uMg%2FVY1bETbwcXmwg5IkqNsPfJL4l0Fi9X3YIjSakuWirQgKJYhyFf%2FP1A3m9zAzg6nOIp5j2a0YADtw9A9%2FdZzQoXZBMwWrQ4aioNJUyyLObHVje%2FwOpoMQyLFtGWtJKaPnllliV2cAM6ZaiCymTQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

An unsung hero of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inner circle reveals the true story behind the Citizenship Education Program—a little-known training program for disenfranchised citizens—reflecting on its huge importance to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and explaining its indisputable relevance to our nation today.

“Nobody can ride your back if your back’s not bent,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously proclaimed at the end of a Citizenship Education Program (CEP), an adult grassroots training program born of the work of the Tennessee Highlander Folk School, expanded by King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and directed by activist Dorothy Cotton. This program, called the best-kept secret of the twentieth-century’s civil rights movement, was critical in preparing legions of disenfranchised citizens across the South to work with existing systems of local government to gain access to resources they were entitled to and to demonstrate peaceably against injustice, even in the face of violence and hatred.

For the first time, Cotton, the only woman in King’s inner circle, offers her account of this important project, which the media, focused at the time on marches and demonstrations, largely ignored. Cotton reveals the significant accomplishments and the drama of the CEP training and describes how the program transformed its participants, inspiring them, in turn, to transform their communities, and ultimately the country as a whole, into a place of greater freedom and justice for all. A timely account of fighting inequality, If Your Back’s Not Bent shows how CEP was key to the civil rights movement’s success and how the lessons of the program can serve our troubled democracy now.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    February 9, 2016
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.88 x 8.38 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0743296842
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0743296847
  7. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

If Your Back's Not Bent: The Role of the Citizenship Education Program in the Civil Rights Movement
$16.00
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics)
$7.49
Available to ship in 1-2 days
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A distinct reminder that women have been endlessly omitted from the written histories of civil rights movements.” -- Camille O. Cosby

“Dorothy Cotton has given us the story of the heart and lungs of the Freedom Struggle.” -- Otis Moss, Jr.

“Dorothy Cotton is an inspiration to so many. We should all pay close attention to her story.” -- Ben Jealous, former NAACP President and CEO

“A much-needed female perspective on life on the front lines with Martin Luther King, Jr.” -- Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, co-author of Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights

“Dorothy Cotton was as crucial to the Movement as was King, Abernathy and Shuttlesworth in her dogged preparation of the ‘troops.’” -- Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, Pastor Emeritus of Harlem’s Canaan Baptist Church of Christ

“Cotton’s Citizenship Education Program taught ordinary people, most importantly, that they could change both themselves and America.” -- Betty DeRamus, author of Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad and Freedom by Any Means

“Superb book . . . . Read it, be inspired, and act.” -- Joan Steinau Lester, award-winning author of Black, White, Other

About the Author

Dorothy Cotton (1930-2018) was a lifelong civil rights activist who was the highest-ranking woman in the Southern Leadership Conference (SCLC), and was a speaker, singer, peacemaker, and visionary dedicated to social justice.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria; Reprint edition (February 9, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743296842
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743296847
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.38 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 33 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Dorothy Cotton

Dorothy Cotton

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
33 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Linda F. Kurtz
5.0 out of 5 stars The SCLC that has remained hidden
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
I found this memoir by Dorthey Cotton several years after her death. I knew Dorothy in the years around King’s assasination and the few years afterwards. My husband worked with her at the time but I realized I did not know much about what they did in the CEP. Her life was extraordinary and the details of how she became the only woman in the leadership at SCLC quite interesting. She stayed with a difficult situation when many would have been broken by it.
Helpful
 Report
Kateri
5.0 out of 5 stars A Hidden Gem
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
I have read dozens of books about Dr. King, his family, his colleagues, and the Civil Rights Movement. Conversely, I have only heard brief mention of this exquisite lady. Since she was a major player among Dr. King's strategists, her story must be more widely known. I so enjoyed reading her accounts of Dr. King and the Movement.
Helpful
 Report
Lil' Cash
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener!
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
I thought I knew a lot about the Civil Rights Movement, but Dorothy Cotton taught me so much more. Behind the speaches and the marches, there was Citizenship training of people from all over the south. Ms.Cotton, along with Andrew Young and Septima Clark, taught people about their rights as citizens of this great nation, and how to gain these rights in a non-violent way. These "ground troops" laid the foundation for the great gains that were made during the 60's. She was the only female member of the "inner circle" of the SCLC during the 60's, which included Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, Wyatt Tee Walker, and Hosea Williams.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dorothy Poole
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
I am a fan of this lady's work.. I am her niece and share her name. My mother and she are sisters. I was included in many of the workshops and events of the SCLC association. I had fun traveling with my aunt throughout the United States. She introduced us to so much. Opened doors we didn't know were closed. I love the book and love the included pictures. It brought back so many memories. Love it all.......
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Terry Tessier
5.0 out of 5 stars An honor to own
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
So grateful to have had the chance to care for this dear lady during her last days here on earth. Both an honor and pleasure to have spent time with this woman … only wished I had received my book earlier.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
martin.morand
5.0 out of 5 stars Made me love her
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Dorothy Cotton gives us personal insight into the Civil Rights movement. The Personal becomes the political in her hands and voice.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars 🌹
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2017
First book I've read start to finish in a long time!
Helpful
 Report